‘Stay at home or else’ – police chief
APOLICE chief has warned residents they will take a
“zero tolerance” approach to anyone breaching lockdown controls.
Chief Constable Andy Rhodes, of Lancashire Police, appealed to the public to save lives by following the government’s social distancing rules in a video message.
Chf Con Rhodes said the county had reached “a critical point” in its history.
He said: “I’m talking to you today as a result of the Prime Minister’s announcement around the new measures put in place to halt the spread of the pandemic and save thousands of lives.
“We all need to work together and this is a critical time in the history of Lancashire that we are relying on the trust that we have got with our communities that help us every day of the week in peacetime to step up to the plate and help us now.
“You will start seeing an increased police presence on the streets of Lancashire.
“We will be tasking our officers and staff to work with our communities to make sure that people are clear on what they can and can’t do as the new measures start to take shape.
“For those people who continue to ignore what measures have been put in place we will be taking a very strong position on this.
“We have legislation already at our disposal to use, and particularly for people who insist on mass gatherings we will be taking a zero tolerance approach.”
Chf Con Rhodes also urged residents to only call police to seek advice around government rules requiring people to stay at home, instead referring people to the gov. uk website.
In a statement Lancashire Police said: “We are getting a high volume of calls around the government rules requiring people to stay at home.
“Please help us to prioritise and keep people safe by not calling us unless it’s an emergency or you need a specific police response.
“This includes not calling us with questions about whether you can/ can’t visit relatives or feed livestock and reporting issues with your employer or their protective measures in place.”