The Police Federation for England and Wales has said lockdown measures announced by Boris Johnson 10 May were so "loose" they’ve made an "already challenging" job "impossible".
In a statement, John Apter, Police Federation chair, said further detail on the measures needed to be "clear and unambiguous...explaining what exactly is expected of the public, so that my colleagues can do their level best to police it".
“The Government has, as expected, made a decision to relax its lockdown guidance in England. This comes following a week of mixed messages and release of some information which, fuelled by media speculation, meant many people acted as though the lockdown had ended. This is putting extreme pressure on my colleagues who are on the frontline trying to enforce legislation in these most challenging of times. Wales and Scotland haven’t adopted the same approach so the changes announced by the Prime Minister will cause huge problems, particularly when people travel across borders to exercise where there are differences in the regulations,” he said.
Apter added that while police officers will “continue to do their best”, their work “must be based on crystal clear guidance, not loose rules left open to interpretation”. Such a state of affairs would be “grossly unfair on officers whose job is already challenging”.
Existing legislation, known as the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020, will be updated 13th May to reflect changes coming into force, among which is increased fines for those breaching lockdown measures - the first financial penalty someone receives if believe they are flouting restrictions on movement will be £100, lowered to £50 if paid within 14 days. Fines will double for each repeat offence, up to a maximum of £3,200.
In Scotland, lockdown fines remain unchanged after the devolved government found no evidence to suggest an increase was required. People found to be flouting lockdown rules in Scotland are first fined £30 by police, which rises to £60 if not paid within 28 days. Cumulative fines for repeat offenders are capped at £960.