Taking short drive for a long walk is allowed
Public can exercise more than once a day, says new guidance – but don’t sit on park benches for too long
Charles Hymas
PEOPLE can drive out for a country walk but only if the walk is longer than the drive, according to new police lockdown guidance, which also states you can move in with friends if you fall out with your spouse or partner.
The guidance, which appears to contradict some earlier interpretations, now says people may exercise more than once a day, stop to rest and have lunch on a park bench, provided they are on a “long” walk.
Police are told, however, that it would not be reasonable for someone to take a “short walk to a park bench, when the person remains seated for a much longer period” or drive for “a prolonged period with only brief exercise”. The guidance was issued last week by the College of Policing but was not flagged to the public or media.
Forces in England have issued 3,203 fines for breaches of the lockdown with big regional variations: Lancashire has issued 380 fines while Humberside has given out just two.
It follows criticism of police for heavy-handed approaches, including roadside stops for motorists suspected of travelling to exercise in beauty spots, checks for “non-essential” shopping in supermarkets and taping off park benches to stop people sitting.
Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, said it illustrated how some forces’ practices had not followed commonsense principles, risking the erosion of public trust.
She said: “A lot of what is in the guidance contradicts police practice that has extended to checking people’s shopping and not being able to drive for exercise. People will be reassured to have some of the more extreme actions being stopped if this type of guidance is followed,”
The new “dos and don’ts”, endorsed by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, state that “driving to the countryside and walking (where far more time is spent walking than driving)” is reasonable. It continues: “Exercise must involve some movement, but it is acceptable for a person to stop for a break in exercise. However, a very short period of ‘exercise’ to excuse a long period of inactivity may mean that the person is not engaged in ‘exercise’ but in fact something else.”
Exercising more than once a day is also reasonable, but officers are advised to consider whether “repeated exercise” on the same day is reasonable.
Although police have placed CCTV in some supermarket car parks to check on non-essential purchases, the guidance says it is “not proportionate” to stop someone buying non-essential items in a shop if they are already out of their house “with good reason”.
People can also still buy luxury items, alcohol and snacks as part of their big shop, while police should not act against those making regular smaller purchases of staples such as newspapers, pet food, bread or milk.
Buying tools to repair a fence panel damaged in recent bad weather is reasonable, according to the guidance, but buying paint and brushes to redecorate a kitchen is not. Maintenance is allowed but not purchases for home improvements or renovation.
Moving to a friend’s address for several days to allow “cooling-off ” following arguments at home, taking a pet for treatment and providing support for vulnerable people are all “reasonable,” says the guidance.
But visiting a friend at their home or meeting in public to socialise and going to a vet’s in person to renew a prescription would not be reasonable, and would leave a person liable for a fine.
Police would be within their rights to sanction someone who worked from home but decided to do work in their local park. However, anyone can travel to work if it is “not reasonably possible” to work from home – and police should not ask for ID or documents to prove it.
“There is no requirement for the person to have any written proof of a need to go to work or volunteering,” says the guidance.
The advice, produced by the Crown Prosecution Service, is described by police chiefs as a “really useful practical guide” as to what might and what might not constitute a “reasonable excuse” for a person to leave their home.
But they warn: “This list is not exhaustive and officers are required to use their discretion and judgment in deciding what is and what isn’t ‘reasonable’ in the circumstances.”
Police have dealt with 112,000 incidents relating to coronavirus restrictions, with two thirds of fines handed out to people aged 18 to 34, the vast majority of whom were white and male.
Enforcement of the lockdown has been linked to a 59 per cent increase in reports of anti-social behaviour, to 178,000 incidents.