Coronavirus: PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne hopes for power to detain unwilling patients

Simon Byrne confirmed today that he has held discussions with Stormont’s justice department about securing the bolstered powers.

New regulations introduced in England allow police to detain people in quarantined areas or those suspected of having the coronavirus.

PSNI chief Simon Byrne said he hopes those powers could be replicated here.

“We don’t yet have that power so we are in dialogue with the Department of Justice to see if that can be replicated here, in case we need to use it,” he told a Policing Board meeting.

The chief constable also suggested police here may face 12-hour shifts and cancelled rest days if coronavirus has a serious impact on staffing levels.

He made the comments after it was confirmed on Wednesday two new cases of coronavirus had been discovered in Northern Ireland, bringing the total number identified so far to three.

The chief constable said the PSNI had not yet taken any steps within the organisation to limit contact, such as introducing remotely accessed meetings, but that the situation would continue to be monitored.

Mr Byrne said 12-hour shifts and the cancellation of rest days is not a “long-term solution” but could be used to “boost the number of people available”.

Asked if he was concerned about the risk to law and order, he responded: “It’s easy to speculate some sort of scenes of a horror film where we are dealing with pandemic and virus, but at the moment our assumption is actually that as people fall ill, that will quieten down the calls for service from us.

“Our priority is to encourage people to remain calm through a period of uncertainty, we are all facing a unique experience maybe that we have not seen the like of for 100 years. But we need to keep officers and staff at work to protect you and also behave responsibly.”

Meanwhile, Queen’s University in Belfast said today it has been working to trace anyone who came into contact with a student carrying the virus.

The student was one of two cases in Northern Ireland confirmed by health authorities on Wednesday.

Professor Stuart Elborn, Queen’s faculty pro-vice-chancellor from its school of medicine, dentistry and biomedical sciences, said: “We have worked with the Public Health Agency to ensure that contact tracing has taken place.”

He added: “We have undertaken cleaning of all of the areas the student was in during the day they were in the university.”

He said the university is “fully prepared”.