Chief Constable Comments After ‘CambridgeCops’ Shopping Snoop Tweet

Nick Dean clarifies force's position after public concern around 'non-essential' shopping tweet.

It comes after Cambridgeshire Police's official Twitter account stated that officers had visited Tesco at Bar Hill and found aisles selling non-essentials were 'empty'.

The tweet caused outrage from Twitterer users, with some pointing out that the same police account had only hours earlier thanked a local chocolate shop for dropping off a 'generation donation of goodies' at a police station. 

Chief Constable Nick Dean said, “The policing style of Cambridgeshire Constabulary has been very clear throughout this current situation and has always been in alignment with national guidance.

“Officers and staff have been actively engaging with communities and receiving, quite rightly, really supportive comments. Where necessary they have given guidance and encouraged people to comply with the new legislation and on the vast majority of occasions people have adhered to the social distancing and stay at home message, which is a testament to our relationship with the communities right across the county.

“Over the Easter weekend we are supporting the critical need for people to stay at home and have put in place a policing operation to support that message with engagement, not enforcement, at its centre.

“On this occasion the officer was doing exactly that, attending an area with high footfall. An unfortunate wording of a tweet is regrettable but this should not detract from the key messages of stay at home, support the NHS and save lives. We are not, and never will be, scrutinising what people buy or have in their shopping baskets.”