West Yorkshire Police have spoken to more than 1,000 people over lockdown powers

More than 1,000 people have been spoken to by police in West Yorkshire over lockdown rules, it has emerged.
By Jonathan Pritchard
Published 10th Apr 2020, 09:51 BST
Updated 10th Apr 2020, 09:52 BST
Police have been stopping people suspected of breaking the lockdown laws.Police have been stopping people suspected of breaking the lockdown laws.
Police have been stopping people suspected of breaking the lockdown laws.

The figure was revealed at a Home Affairs Select Committee where it was heard that officers would normally have been trained on how to use the powers before they came into force - but this was not possible due to the rapid timeframe in which they were introduced.

Chief Constable John Robins, from West Yorkshire Police, said since the lockdown powers came into force, his officers had spoken to 1,200 people and issued 20 fines. It was also revealed that North Yorkshire had issued 11 fines since Thursday.

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Simon Kempton, from the Police Federation, said that the police's relationship with the public should not be sacrificed amid the outbreak.

He said: "At the minute we're in the middle of this pandemic, and it's scary and it's unprecedented but it's going to end.

"And when it ends the public are going to emerge and it's going to be a very different world, they will have lost their jobs, their businesses. And they're going to need protecting by the police at that point.

"We can best protect them, not just by having the right equipment, but by maintaining that relationship. I'm really proud of the relationship that we've got with the public.

"What we need to do is get that balance - protecting the NHS while protecting that relationship with the public."