Police chief makes call for tougher deterrents
A POLICE chief wants the Welsh Government to bring in tougher lockdown deterrents despite the new £1,920 maximum fine.
Last Wednesday the First Minister announced the top fine for people caught repeatedly flouting lockdown rules in Wales will increase to £1,920.
The current maximum fine of £120 will be dramatically increased this month after more than 1,300 fixed penalty notices were issued since the lockdown restrictions were introduced at the end of March.
But on BBC Radio Wales Breakfast one police chief has said the fines should be even higher.
Police and Crime Commissioner for DyfedPowys Police, Dafydd Llewelyn, said: “Personally I don’t think it goes far enough, if I’m honest. It’s pleasing that Welsh Government have listened to policing in Wales.”
The existing fines structure, which imposed a £60 fine for a first offence rising to £120 for a second and subsequent offences, will be replaced by a new structure in which the fines double for every offence - rising from £60 to £120 to £1,920 for the sixth offence.
Mr Llewelyn added: “I’m disappointed that the first fine hasn’t been altered as a deterrent.
“What I was calling on was for the deterrent of the first offence to be higher because what we’re seeing, particularly in the Dyfed-Powys area that I am responsible for, is people travelling vast vast distances coming to the beauty spots, coming into our area. I feel this sends the wrong message to the public.
“We saw a group of off road bikers who had returned to DP over the weekend following some intervention from the police about a fortnight ago. They’ve been fined two weeks ago.
“The £60 fine is reduced to £30 if it’s paid within a certain time – that obviously wasn’t much of a deterrent. If they had been slapped with a higher fine in the first instance, I’m pretty sure that they wouldn’t have returned.
“I’m disappointed and frustrated that Welsh Government didn’t go further. There’s an element that it will help. We’re testing new ground. We’re not in the business of trying to issue tickets like confetti. We’re doing it, not to stop people having picnics on the beach, but to stop the spread of a deadly virus that is still spreading across Wales.”
The increased fines were introduced ahead of the bank holiday weekend following a request from the four police forces in Wales and the Police and Crime Commissioners for increased penalties to help deter people from repeatedly breaching the stay-at-home regulations, a Welsh Government spokesman said.
Evidence from police shows a “small minority” are breaching the regulations, particularly by travelling to well-known beauty spots which have been closed for the past two months.
Announcing the changes to the fines structure, First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “I am very grateful to the chief constables and our Police and Crime Commissioners for all the work they have done to keep Wales safe throughout the pandemic.
“The police have adopted a ‘4Es’ approach to the regulations – they have engaged people, explained what they need to do, and encouraged them to comply. But when people haven’t responded they have used their powers to enforce the regulations.
“Fines are a last resort in the enforcement of the regulations which keep us all safe.
“The evidence from the chief constables and Police and Crime Commissioners shows we need a stronger fines structure to deter that small minority of people who persistently fail to keep to the rules.”
He added: “We continue to ask people to stay at home to protect themselves and their loved ones from coronavirus. If they are exercising – please stay safe and stay local.
“I want to thank everyone for their continuing support in reducing the spread of coronavirus in Wales – by sticking to the rules we are all helping to protect each other and our NHS and we are saving lives.
“These changes will send a strong signal to the small minority of people who are blatantly ignoring the rules and undermining the efforts of everybody else.”