PSNI on full alert to stop St Pat’s Day rule-breaking
FIRST Minister Arlene Foster has warned that key dates approaching, including St Patrick’s Day, “must be different this year”.
Speaking yesterday she said: “Please continue to stay home. Do not socialise outside your family or your bubble, and we particularly want to say to young people that you need to follow the rules and the advice,” she said.
It comes as hundreds of extra police officers will be on duty for a “robust” response to St Patrick’s Day rule breakers.
Substantial numbers will patrol beauty spots and the Holyland area in Belfast to break up house parties.
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd said people knew the rules and those breaking them could expect stiff fines.
“The four Es approach starts now. If people breach that... then they can expect a robust response,” he said.
The four Es stands for the graduated policing response in the pandemic — engaging, explaining and encouraging, before enforcing.
Mr Todd said wrongdoing like drinking in public places was enforceable even without the coronavirus regulations in place.
“My concern is about people breaching the regulations and posing a risk to wider community health,” he said.
“We will act proportionately and with necessity.”
The heightened operation will run from early morning today through to the early hours of tomorrow.
Mr Todd said it would be a significant operation. He added: “We will have our normal deployments for normal calls and services.the other effort is on top of that. It is a substantial policing operation, it will run to the hundreds of officers.”
Chief medical officer Dr Michael Mcbride has told those holding parties for St Patrick’s Day to “wise up” and think about families grieving the loss of a loved one to coronavirus.
Police have already broken up gatherings in the Holyland in south Belfast ahead of St Patrick’s Day.
Mr Todd said he did not want to see large crowds gathering in one place because that posed particular risks of young people bringing Covid-19 home to unvaccinated parents.
He said: “We are coming out of a long winter and we hope for better times.”