Only three police forces issue fines for mask flouters

ONLY three police forces have issued fines to people for failing to wear a face mask in public, as officers have spurned government calls for a crackdown.

Lancashire and Lincolnshire have issued just three fines, worth a total of £300, since the rules mandating the wearing of masks in shops or other indoor settings was introduced on July 24 and Aug 8 respectively.

The only other force is the British Transport Police (BTP) which is responsible for policing public transport, which issued 51 fixed penalty notices.

The remaining 31 of the 34 police forces that responded to the Freedom of Information request did not issue a single penalty notice to people flouting the rules, according to the research by Reboot Digital, a digital marketing agency. The figures confirmed warnings by rank-and-file officers that police were too stretched to pursue people who failed to wear a mask.

John Apter, the chairman of the Police Federation, said: “Not only is it going to be difficult, it is going to be impossible. We simply can’t do it. Policing has been stretched like never before. There are not enough of us to make this work.”

Under the rules, people who do not cover their faces in shops, takeaways, banks, building societies and post offices in England face a £100 fine. Officers can “use force” to prevent shoppers entering the store or remove them if they break the rule.

BTP stopped 50,729 people between June 30 and Sept 8. There were also 3,545 interventions where passengers not wearing face coverings were told to leave the station or train.