Northumbria Police hands out most fines for breaking Covid rules in England and Wales

Northumbria Police has handed out the most fines for breaking Covid-19 rules than any other force in England having issued more than 3,000 fixed penalty notices.
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The force handed out almost 10% of all fines issued by the 45 forces in England and Wales for breaking Covid-19 rules between March 27 and December 21 last year.

Figures by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) showed 3,034 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) were issued in the Northumbria Police’s force area –considerably more than neighbouring forces of Durham Constabulary at 253 fines and Cleveland with 313 fines.

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Between June 15 and December 21, 958 FPNs were issued for breaches of the Face Coverings Regulations across England and Wales – of these 137 were by Northumbria Police.

Northumbria Police hands out more Covid fines than any other force in England and WalesNorthumbria Police hands out more Covid fines than any other force in England and Wales
Northumbria Police hands out more Covid fines than any other force in England and Wales

The report suggest there has been a downward trend in recent weeks following a surge in fines when the Local Covid-19 Alert Levels were brought in on October 14 and the second national lockdown on November 5.

There was also an increase in some areas in early September when restrictions were first re-tightened.

Prior to this, levels of fines were substantially higher during the first period of restrictions, with a peak of 3,288 FPNs issued between April 10 and 16, 2020, during the week of the Easter Bank holiday.

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National Police Chiefs’ Council Chair Mark Hewitt, who thanked the majority of people for sticking to the rules, said: “Enforcement doesn’t and shouldn’t always equal police involvement or the issuance of a fixed penalty notice.

"Individuals, businesses and a range of agencies all have a responsibility to ensure the virus is suppressed, particularly now as we again see increased pressure on the health service.

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"We will continue to engage with people proportionately, fairly and using common sense, taking our well-established 4Es approach. We have produced guidance for forces in line with the new national measures in England which reinforces this approach.

“It is right for officers to be inquisitive about why individuals may be away from home.

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"Those who blatantly ignore the regulations should expect to receive a fixed penalty notice and we’ll target our resources towards those who commit the most serious breaches and put others at risk through their behaviour.”

The weekly count for England and Wales shows that in recent weeks there has been a downward trend with 542 FPNs issued in the last full week

(December 11 to 17), compared with 821 tickets in the previous week.

Northumbria Police has previously said they will not waste time with ‘endless encouragement’ to with those who knowingly break the rules and ultimately endanger lives.

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Assistant Chief Constable Scott Hall said: “Throughout the pandemic, officers have been engaging with communities, explaining the regulations which are in place, encouraging people to follow them – and where necessary taking enforcement action.

“This deliberate approach is rooted in the very tradition of policing by consent.

“We will continue to speak to people about the restrictions and offer advice to those who have mistakenly broken them.

“However, as we have previously made clear, we won’t waste time with endless encouragement for people who knowingly break the rules, undermine the efforts of others and ultimately endanger lives. They should expect to receive enforcement action.”

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