Travel breaches most common in tourist areas
NEW figures have revealed the number of coronavirus fines handed out to English residents travelling to Wales during the lockdown, with DyfedPowys issuing the most fines.
Data released on Monday shows how many fines police across Wales issued when lockdown restrictions were tougher and people were encouraged to stay local.
Dyfed-Powys issued 1,156 fines, South Wales Police handed out 242, while 281 were handed out in North Wales and just 111 in Gwent.
Officers from across Wales often reported stopping drivers from England who were frequently unaware some rules were different on either side of the border.
The figures, released by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, now show how large numbers of English residents were fined for visiting typical tourist areas such as in North Wales or areas covered by Dyfed-Powys Police.
But they also show that Welsh residents were often fined after travelling to other police force areas within Wales.
The report has analysed the number of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) handed out for breaching the then coronavirus rules.
The period covers fines issued between March 27 and May 25.
In North Wales, 69% of fines were handed to nonresidents, with the figure at 57% in Dyfed-Powys.
Dorset, another tourist hotspot, was the highest across England and Wales with 78%.
But in South Wales a whopping 90% of fines went to local residents.
These figures (below) show the number of fines handed out in each police force area, and the police force where that person resides.
If an area is not included then no residents from that area were fined during the time period.
The figures show that the number of FPNs issued represented a rate of three fines for every 10,000 people in England and six fines per 10,000 in Wales.
The report says: “It is important to note that these figures represent the number of incidents, rather than prevalence, as around 7% of FPNs were issued to people who had previously received one.”
Dyfed-Powys Police handed out 22 FPNs per 10,000 residents, much higher than the England and Wales average.
Across England and Wales, the main reason police handed out an FPN was “contravene requirement as to restriction of movement during emergency period”.
The second highest reason was “contravene requirement to not participate in a gathering in public of more than two”.
National Police Chiefs’ Council chair Martin Hewitt said: “The number of FPNs issued overall is low, reflecting our approach of enforcing only as a last resort.
“It is also important to recognise that this data presents only a partial picture as it does not show the hundreds of thousands of interactions with the public where engagement, explanation and encouragement was effective and there was no need to issue a fine.
“Those who were given a fine did not follow the regulations that millions of others were abiding by, which were there to control the spread of a deadly virus, protect the NHS and save lives.
“Of the relatively small group who were issued with an FPN, there are disparities across gender, age and ethnicity, with young men most disproportionately represented against the population as a whole.
“The analysis in this report is complex and needs be interpreted carefully. The data available makes drawing definitive conclusions about disproportionality challenging and comparisons between forces are difficult due to their varying local contexts.”