COVID-19: Police officers will be quicker to enforce COVID rules due to ‘severe’ crisis, says policing minister – By Sky News Staff (Sky News) / January 12 2021
One force handed out 70 fines for lockdown breaches over the weekend.
Police will be quicker to enforce coronavirus rules during England’s latest national lockdown due to the “severe” crisis the country faces, the crime and policing minister has told Sky News.
Kit Malthouse said he hoped there wouldn’t be an increase in the number of fines or arrests due to COVID rule-breaching, but he added it was up to the public to abide by the restrictions.
During the coronavirus crisis, police have been pursuing a “four Es” strategy, by engaging, explaining, encouraging and then, as a last step, enforcing lockdown measures.
With England now in the second week of a third national lockdown, Mr Malthouse said: “If people play by the rules and they recognise the police are doing a difficult job in very challenging circumstances, and cooperate, then hopefully the four ‘Es’; encourage, all that kind of stuff, before we get to enforcement, will have an effect.
