North West police chief constables sign open letter ahead of national lockdown promising 'greater enforcement'

Police chief constables from across the North West have written an open letter ahead of the national lockdown, which comes into place on Thursday (5 November).

Ian Hopkins, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, has joined the chief constables of Lancashire Constabulary, Cheshire Constabulary, Cumbia Constabulary and Merseyside Police in pledging to ‘target those who flout restrictions’.

Under the new restrictions, you may only leave home for education, work (if you cannot work from home), exercise, medical reasons, to shop for food and essentials, or to provide care for vulnerable people or volunteer.
 

Read more: National lockdown in England from 5 NovemberPublished: 31 October 2020

The letter in full reads as follows:

As the Police Chiefs responsible for the North West we have seen first-hand the misery the pandemic has caused, but we have also seen great support from the majority of our communities.

We have tried to ensure we have maintained the principle of policing with consent, that sets apart policing in this country from other parts of the world. Along with police forces nationally, we have taken a very measured approach to enforcement from the start of the pandemic, recognising the restrictions placed on all our lives were unprecedented.

We used the 4E’s model of Engage, Explain, Encourage and only as a last resort Enforce, in relation to issuing Fixed Penalty Notices for breaching the Coronavirus legislation.

Sadly we have seen a minority right across the North West who seem incapable of demonstrating any civic responsibility and complying with the regulations. We know from focus groups and regional insight work the majority of the public would wish to see the Police Service taking a consistent and robust approach to enforcement.

Since local restrictions have been necessary across large parts of the North West we have taken a firmer stance on enforcing the restrictions, moving more quickly to issuing Fixed Penalty Notices for those deliberately flouting the law and putting lives at risk.

As we head into further significant restrictions from 00.01 on Thursday 5 November 2020 we wanted to give these collective messages:

To the majority of our communities who have tried so hard to comply with restrictions, please carry on. We know how hard this is, but we need to maintain that shared purpose we had in the first lockdown to defeat the virus and, ultimately, save lives.

To the minority who feel the restrictions don’t apply to them be prepared to face the consequences of greater levels of enforcement. We will collectively target those who flout the restrictions, particularly those organising large gatherings and music events, repeatedly holding parties or deliberately causing harm to our communities by not following the restrictions, such as self-isolating where necessary.

Where we have issued Fixed Penalty notices a significant proportion of recipients think they can ignore them. We are therefore seeking support from Government and the Judiciary to consider how we bring these people to justice rapidly.

Let us all do everything we can to get through this most awful of times and prevent any further suffering across the North West.

Yours sincerely

Darren Martland, Chief Constable of Cheshire Constabulary

Michelle Skeer, Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary

Ian Hopkins, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police

Andy Rhodes, Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary

Andy Cooke, Chief Constable of Merseyside Police