‘A sledgehammer to crack a nut’ – police
POLICE have ruled out using spy cameras and spot checks to enforce the travel ban Nicola Sturgeon is expected to announce this week.
The First Minister is due to announce new laws, designed to reduce the spread of Covid, that would make it illegal to enter or leave areas with the highest rates of infection.
Doubts have already been raised about how such a ban would be enforced.
But now, in a move that creates further uncertainty around the proposals, Police Scotland has confirmed that a decision has been made not to use either spot checks or the network of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras. Ms Sturgeon believes a legally enforced travel ban is necessary to stop Covid being spread to areas with a lower prevalence of the virus, and to prevent another Scotland-wide lockdown.
But Police Scotland confirmed that neither ANPR nor roadside spot checks would be used to enforce Covid restrictions.
However, a senior officer stressed the importance of obeying rules designed to reduce transmission of the virus.
Assistant Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: ‘It would not be appropriate to speculate on what future restrictions may look like or which areas may be affected. Police Scotland is working with a range of partners across the country to support the restrictions in place to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.
‘We fully understand the implications these have on our daily lives, but we cannot have people twisting the rules and disregarding the law which is there to stop the spread of coronavirus and help save lives.’
Meanwhile, police sources have said the force does not want to risk losing public goodwill by coming down hard on drivers who, for example, cross borders to do their weekly shopping. One said that ANPR was the ‘most
useful tool’ at the police’s disposal, but he added: ‘The use of ANPR cameras in this way would be seen as like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It’s not what they’re there for.
‘The major concern might be about areas that tip over into Tier 4 while the neighbouring authority is still Tier 3.
‘If someone lives in Tier 4 and shops deemed non-essential are closed, and they drive half a mile into a Tier 3 area to buy new shoes or tights, do we really want to use the law to come down on them?’
The Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents rank-and-file officers, admitted there was ‘a lot of head-scratching going on’ about how to enforce any ban. SPF chairman David Hamilton said: ‘It’s one thing having legislation, it’s another enforcing it.
‘Many of the previous geographical restrictions were guidance as opposed to legislative requirements for this very reason.
‘If legislation is introduced then Police Scotland will obviously consider how it can be appropriately applied, but I think it would be fair to say that there is a lot of head scratching going on across the service.’
Last week, Ms Sturgeon told Holyrood: ‘You cannot have a targeted, proportionate, regional approach to Covid restrictions unless you have travel restrictions as part of it.’ Last night, politicians warned the Scottish Government must not jeopardise public support, by failing to explain how a ban would work in practice.
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Donald Cameron said: ‘With the police already raising concerns, there appears to be major problems in this working in practice.’
Rhoda Grant, Scottish Labour MSP, said: ‘Scottish police resources are already stretched to the limit by the extra workload Covid-19 has imposed on them.’
Willie Rennie, Scottish Lib Dem leader, said: ‘If Ministers had boosted testing capacity and built a contact tracing system that was up to scratch, we might not be in this situation.’