Avon & Somerset chief constable Andy Marsh has rejected setting up police roadblocks to enforce coronavirus restrictions.
A roadblock in Bath | Photo © 1000 Words / Shutterstock.com
It comes amid criticism of heavy-handed tactics by officers across the country.
Both Devon & Cornwall and North Yorkshire forces have set up blockades to stop people travelling by car in some areas.
But Mr Marsh has confirmed Avon & Somerset will not be following suit.
Speaking on a Facebook Live with police and crime commissioner Sue Mountstevens on Friday (April 3), he said: “We are considering all the options.
“We are learning from other police forces about how to help our communities lead this period of restriction on their lives rather than be the people who have to do the enforcement.
“So we have considered roadblocks but it is not our intention to use roadblocks.
“What we are worried about, though, along with other forces, particularly in the South West, is that it’s coming up to Easter, Sunday is going to be a nice day weather-wise and we really would wish to discourage people from travelling.
“This is not the time to drive through Bristol or Somerset to get to holiday homes, to go on trips to the beach, to go for picnics.
“We know it’s difficult but we would ask people to do their best to carry on doing what they’ve done to comply with the guidelines to protect the NHS and save lives.
“The advice is very new, so like everyone we are doing our very best to interpret it with commonsense.
“People should exercise once a day and avoid unnecessary travel.
“The way we are interpreting that is that if there is no other way to exercise from your house other than a short drive, which could be to an allotment, then we are not going to conduct an enforcement activity about that.
“This is about all of us as individuals adopting the spirit of it, including minimising the number of shopping trips you make.
“Going every day is not a good idea.
“If you’re managing to follow these guidelines in every other way but you go shopping five, six, seven times a week then there is more likelihood you will spread or acquire the virus.”
Mr Marsh said the force had received far in excess of 1,000 reports of people breaching the new government guidelines during the lockdown.
He said: “We are trying to respond to as many of those as possible but respond to them in the spirit of our approach which is about engaging people, encouraging them to comply with the regulations and explaining what the regulations mean.
“We are doing a tiny proportion of enforcement where people are either ignoring regulations, they’re criminally active – drug-dealing, carrying out a burglary – or they are refusing to take the advice of the officers to go home and isolate.
“Criminals are not necessarily respecting these guidelines and they are standing out more than usual.
“I was out with patrolling officers across Somerset at a number of stations yesterday and I heard some really warming stories of burglars who had been arrested who stood out because they were the only ones out and about behaving criminally and drug dealers who were arrested, one of whom with a knife.”
Ms Mountstevens said: “We are having to change our behaviours an awful lot every day.
“I am expecting a grandchild to pop into this world any day now and I am going to miss out on that very first cuddle.
“We are doing this to safeguard our NHS, our doctors and nurses, our frontline responders, police and all our other emergency services to protect them.
“I would want to thank each and every one of you for making such a really big difference.
“There are very few cars about.
“A lot of people are staying at home and staying safe because that is how we are going to get through this.
“More people may be thinking ‘can I get in the car?’ but it’s really not the time to get complacent.
“We are still getting horrendous figures of those contracting Covid-19 and sadly dying.
“These rules apply to all of us and we have to take them in the spirit, so please stay at home.
“Together we can get through this but we have to get through this together.”
Stephen Sumner, Local Democracy Reporter
You can find the latest coronavirus information, advice and community updates for the Bath & North East Somerset area on our dedicated live blog here.
