South Yorkshire police boss supports lockdown approach taken by officers

Dr Alan Billings said that since lockdown restrictions were imposed the ‘majority of residents have adhered to the advice and only a very small number have needed to be reminded about their actions’.

Figures released earlier this week showed that between March 27 and April 13, South Yorkshire Police issued 118 fines for lockdown breaches.

The force has adopted the ‘Engage, Explain, Encourage and Enforce’ approach.

Over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend 24 Fixed Penalty Notices were issued, most commonly in response to non-essential travel.

Dr Alan Billings, said: “I am pleased to see that overall the public of South Yorkshire have voluntarily complied with the legislation.

“South Yorkshire Police has acted appropriately and proportionately to engage, explain and educate individuals and small parts of communities where breaches have been made.

“This has meant that fixed penalty notices have only been given in a small number of circumstances where there has been continued breaches and refusal to follow officer instructions.

“Over the coming weeks, as the COVID crisis reaches its peak, it is critical that we all continue to follow government advice to ensure that we are in the best position to reduce demand on our NHS services and to enable the country to start to get back to normality as soon as it is safe to do so.”