Police flooded with tip-offs of lockdown being flouted

POLICE forces are receiving phone calls tipping them off about people flouting lockdown laws as often as every five minutes, a chief constable has revealed.

Peter Goodman, Derbyshire’s police chief, said just over 11 per cent of his force’s 2,300 calls a day were from people reporting neighbours breaching social distancing restrictions.

“Some of it is about things taking place in public spaces, some about people entertaining at their home addresses,” said Mr Goodman, whose force controversially put up a drone to deter dog walkers in the Peak District.

“We believe some of [the tip-offs] are a little misguided, a little of it may be malicious, but the vast majority of it has been about concerned members of the public doing the responsible thing.”

A number of forces have set up dedicated web links for tip-offs, including Greater Manchester Police which has invited people to give the postcode and details of people “contravening the government advice on physical social distancing and stay at home measures”.

Lisa Winward, chief constable of North Yorkshire, which set up road checks to deter visitors to the county’s beauty spots, said her force had also seen a shift in calls towards “goodwilled” members of the public “trying to stop the spread of the virus.” Chief Constable John Robbins, of West Yorkshire Police, also reported a “significant increase” in calls about people not complying with the regulations.

It follows a weekend which saw people picnicking, sunbathing and crowding into open land or parks. Simon Kempton, the Police Federation operational lead, said a handful of officers had to disperse 3,000 people from Brockwell Park in south London. He urged the Government to consider an “emotional” campaign to get people to “want to comply rather than feel they have to”. He told a special video sitting of the home affairs committee: “If the message was more ‘If you are not going out, you are protecting these doctors and nurses, you are saving lives’, that might have a more positive effect.”

Another option is to “blitz” areas of high non-compliance with police officers and fines.

Yesterday, Andy Preston, the mayor of Middlesbrough, the town identified as the worst in the UK for staying indoors, promised such action. “Those flouting national social distancing measures in Middlesbrough can expect police fines – starting today,” he said. “Police and street wardens will blitz some areas.”

Owners of second homes in the Lake District also face a tightening of restrictions as assistant chief constable Andy Slattery, of Cumbria Police, said they were still renting properties to visitors.

Police chiefs admitted there had been initial “mistakes” in and conflicting messages largely because of the speed at which the stay-at-home legislation had come in. It also emerged yesterday that one in eight police officers (13 per cent) are currently absent due to coronavirus – self-isolating or caring for an ill relative.