Shopping bags searched and ban on fishing: scope of new laws emerges
Lockdown rules prove confusing for both public and police as one force hands out 123 fines for breaches while another gives none
WHEN police spotted a car full of people travelling through Greater Manchester they promptly pulled the vehicle over and ordered the occupants to return home at once or risk a fine for breaching the national lockdown rules.
The move was an example of officers using their draconian new powers to restrict all non-essential travel throughout the country and prevent the further spread of Covid-19.
Unfortunately, rather than reckless joyriders, the car contained a group of key workers who were on their way to a night shift at a major supermarket, but were unable to persuade the officers of their credentials.
As constabularies across the country continue to get to grips with the powerful new legislation at their disposal, numerous examples have emerged of officers wielding the laws with such zeal that critics have suggested we are in danger of becoming a police state.
In the days after Boris Johnson first announced the shutdown, confusion reigned. Travelling to the Lake District or Cornwall in your camper van was definitely out, but regular exercise in the open air was permitted.
The legislation empowering the police to uphold the public health safety restrictions ought to have provided some clear guidance.
But with 43 forces seemingly interpreting the law in a multitude of different ways, the picture seems even more confused than ever.
There are now mounting fears that the country’s “policing by consent” model could be severely damaged as could long-term trust in the police.
Derbyshire Police have been among the most enthusiastic of forces when it comes to applying the new law. They deployed drones to monitor areas of the Peak District National Park.
The force said the advice it issued to the public “was in line with national government advice and echoed what people in our communities were saying”. The force also put dye into a lake at a beauty spot to dissuade people from swimming there.
In Warrington, Cheshire Police boasted of issuing summonses to people who had been shopping for “nonessential” items.
In the Halton Brook area of Runcorn, the local constabulary tweeted: “Nipping to the shop for a paper, or a scratch card is not an essential reason to be out of the house.”
Elsewhere, in Cheshire a man was prevented from exercising his dog in his own field because it was a five-minute trip from his house.
Cheshire Police used social media to hammer home the message of the risk people faced if they let their family leave the house: “If you were informed that there was a killer on the streets randomly targeting innocent people, you don’t know where they were, you couldn’t see them from your window, BUT you knew they were out there. Would you go out? Would you let your kids out of your sight?”
In another part of the country there were reports of officers in a pharmacy going through customers’ baskets to remove “non-essential items”.
James Lowman from the Association of Convenience Stores, said it was a worrying development that was adding to confusion.
In Blackburn, Lancashire Police issued a £60 fine to a man who claimed he was exercising when he was spotted outside smoking a cigarette.
The force yesterday said it had issued 123 fines for breaches of the rules.
In contrast Wiltshire Police said they had not issued any fines yet. The definition of what constitutes exercise was also a matter of debate on the south coast where an angler on Brighton Beach was sent packing by Sussex Police. The man was told fishing was a non-essential activity.
A No10 spokesman said fishing did not constitute exercise.
In Raynes Park, west London the police approached some people who were sat down on the grass. When asked by the officers what they were doing they claimed they were sitting down after finishing their exercise, but were informed that was not allowed.
A No 10 spokesman denied there was confusion about the law and said: “The rules set out what we need to do, which is that there should not be gatherings of more than two people from different households and people should stay two metres apart.
“It is the job of government to publish the regulations, to set out clear sets of instructions – I believe we have done that and it is up to the police to exercise discretion.”
In North Yorkshire, officers were stopping cars with more than one occupant and checking whether the journeys were justified.
Among the excuses given to officers were: “I needed to deliver a lawnmower”, “I needed to pick up a puppy”, “I wanted to go for a walk in the countryside”, “I wanted to visit my mother” and “The local vets are not open and I need to go to one in Lancashire.”
Some forces organised random road blocks. Supt Paul Mccurry of South Yorkshire Police said: “We have set up a number of road checkpoints across the county, which are enabling us to determine whether the journeys drivers are making are essential.”
But in Lincolnshire, Asst Chief Constable Kerrin Wilson said: “We won’t be setting up road blocks and stopping people in their vehicles unless there is a clear policing reason for us to do so.”
But while critics have been quick to accuse the police of wielding their new powers too zealously, there have also been examples of the public behaving in thoughtless and even reckless ways.
In Hertfordshire, Stevenage Police stopped a vehicle in a leisure park and were told by the driver that he was in the area playing Pokemon Go.
Cheshire Police apprehended a driver on the M6 who had travelled from Coventry to Salford to collect a window he had bought off ebay for £15. His wife was travelling in the boot for the return journey.
Across the country, a growing number of people have also been charged with weaponising coronavirus by coughing and spitting at police.
In Brighton a 65-year-old man was jailed for 12 weeks for spitting in the faces of three officers and in Northampton a 30-year-old man was charged with spitting at a special constable and claiming to be infected with Covid-19.