Police staff caught at illegal gathering

TWENTY people have been fined after they were found at an illegal gathering in Swansea where South Wales Police employees were also among those present.

Officers from South Wales Police were called to a property in the Penlan area of the city following reports of an indoor gathering.

Twenty fixed penalty notices for breaching coronavirus regulations were issued.

Staff from South Wales Police were among the guests at the party, believed to be a baby shower, but it is not known if they were among the 20 who received fixed penalty notices. It is understood none of the staff attending the event were serving police officers.

A spokeswoman for South Wales Police said: “At around 2.40pm on Saturday, May 8, officers were called to an address in Penlan, Swansea, with reports of an indoor gathering which was in breach of Covid-19 regulations. A total of 20 fixed penalty notices were issued.

“Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, South Wales Police employees have been expected to adhere to and uphold all regulations in place, and to set an example to our communities during a challenging time.”

According to figures recently released by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) 6,351 fines were given out by all Welsh police forces between January 17 and April 18 this year for breaching coronavirus regulations.

They showed that South Wales Police had given out the most fines since the pandemic began with 4,615. Of those, 3,342 had been given out since January. North Wales Police had handed out 2,366 fines including 1,711 since January. Dyfed-powys Police had given out 2,151 including 305 since January, and Gwent Police had given out 1,288 fines, 815 of which have been given since January.

The majority of the fines across Wales have been issued for illegal indoor gatherings such as parties, but they have also been issued for other reasons, including entering, leaving or remaining away from somewhere under restrictions without a reasonable excuse, participating in a public gathering, leaving your home during a period of self-isolation, and failing to provide details to Track and Trace when requested to.