Regional police forces will enforce Covid laws ‘as they see fit’ over Christmas

‘No one knows what the situation will be but at the end of it, it’s a decision for the chief constable to make’

‘Christmas or otherwise, people need to understand the seriousness of the situation we’re in,’ says the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (Getty)

Regional police forces will enforce coronavirus laws “as they see fit” over Christmas, senior officers have said.

The chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), Martin Hewitt, said it was too early to predict what restrictions could be in place over the festive period.

“None of us have any idea what restrictions and regulations will be in place over Christmas,” he told a press conference on Wednesday.

“We are providing guidance at a national level and doing everything we can to achieve consistency, but the system we have in this country is that we have independent police forces that are led by their chief constable or commissioner. Each of those individuals will operationally deploy in the way they see fit.”

Mr Hewitt said the leaders of each of the 43 regional police forces in England and Wales would work to understand the laws relating to their areas and “take whatever action is appropriate in the circumstances”.

There have already been significant differences in the approach to coronavirus laws taken by different police forces, with analysis by The Independent showing that fines have been given out at dramatically different rates in different parts of the country.

Andy Cooke, the NPCC lead for crime operations, said chief constables would decide their “policing approach” over the festive period.

“We will look to uphold the law whenever we can but we’ll do it in the right way,” he added. “No one knows what the situation will be, but at the end of it it’s a decision for the chief constable to make.”

They spoke after the police and crime commissioner for the West Midlands suggested that officers would intervene in “flagrant” rule-breaking over Christmas.

David Jamieson said he feared that “frustration” with restrictions could boil over into civil unrest over the festive season.

“We're sitting on a time bomb here,” he told the Telegraph. “Things are very on the edge in a lot of communities and it wouldn't take very much to spark off unrest, riots, damage.”

Police do not currently have the power to enter people’s homes involuntarily in order to check compliance with coronavirus laws, even in “very high” areas under the tightest restrictions.

Mr Hewitt appealed for people to ensure they understand the rules where they live, which may change as Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations continue to rise.

He added: “The reason the regs are brought in is because it’s based on what scientists say and saves people’s lives. Christmas or otherwise, people need to understand the seriousness of the situation we’re in.”

The senior officer said he understood that people’s lives were being affected by the restrictions, saying: “I entirely understand that every one of us across the UK is tired, we’ve been at it for a long time.”

But he appealed for the public to continue reporting major breaches of the law, such as large gatherings and parties.

Mr Cooke, who is the chief constable of Merseyside Police, hit out at “sneering” toward people with genuine concerns who contact police.

“We’ve got our ICU beds full, more people than ever are dying in Merseyside,” he added. “People are doing a civic duty by calling us for the right reasons. The majority of people are really concerned, and the information they give us can save lives.”

New figures released by the NPCC on Wednesday showed that more than 20,200 fines had been issued under different kinds of lockdown restrictions by 19 October.

A total of 268 fines have so far been recorded under the new three tier system, with 124 given in very high areas, 79 in high and 65 in medium.

The highest penalty, of £10,000, has been issued 64 times in England and twice in Wales, including for parties, illegal protests and unlicensed music events.

Around 400 fines have also been issued for breaching the “rule of six”, which came into force on 14 September.

Police have handed out more than 250 penalties for failing to wear a face covering in shops, public transport and other places, and 47 to businesses for failing to adhere to the law or enforce it.

By 19 October, officers had investigated almost 6,000 suspected breaches of travel quarantine regulations, but found that people were complying in most cases.

In more than 600 cases, people did not answer the door of a home and “no further enforcement action was possible”, 380 people are suspected of giving false details and 284 people were not fined after being spoken to.

A total of 125 fines have been given out for breaching the international travel regulations, including a man who went on a pub crawl in Somerset after returning from holiday and later tested positive for coronavirus.

Mr Hewitt said there would be an increase in enforcement activity after police leaders received extra funding from the Home Office.

He promised a “shift towards quicker enforcement against those knowingly breaking the rules”, adding: “Where people don’t listen to police officers’ encouragement then we will take action. That is our job and I believe the public expect us to do that.”