Police who fined two women £200 for meeting up for country walk are slammed by ex chief constable

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A former-police chief has claimed the Derbyshire officers who fined two women for going on a socially-distanced country walk together have ‘damaged’ the public’s perception of the police. 

Former Durham Police chief constable Mike Barton said he believed Derbyshire Police would ‘row back’ on its decision to fine beautician Jessica Allen and her British Airways flight attendant friend Eliza Moore.

The women were slapped with two £200 notices for driving seven miles for a socially-distanced stroll at Foremark Reservoir because officers said their hot drinks counted as a ‘picnic’.

Mr Barton said the ‘damage’ has already been done as the public will be less likely to abide by the law if the police aren’t acting ‘fairly’.

The force’s harsh tactics came as the Government issued a new campaign blitz to scare people into obeying lockdown rules.

Furious viewers have blasted the advert as ‘hypocritical’ as the Government is urging strict adherence to social distancing rules while some schools are still open at 50 per cent capacity.

And SAGE scientist Professor Susan Michie said Britons need more support if they are expected to abide by the rules as 10-days isolation could mean someone loses their income over that period.

England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty has appeared in adverts urging Britons to ‘act like you’ve got’ coronavirus to ‘protect the NHS and save lives’.

Two terrifying new posters also show a patient dying in hospital and a healthcare worker wearing full PPE, warning Britons: ‘If you go out, you can spread it. People will die.’  

He told BBC Breakfast: ‘I think personally Derbyshire will row back from this position, but sadly there will be some damage done here because for the public to comply with the law, they have got to think and see the police are acting fairly. It’s called procedural justice.

‘If police aren’t seen to be acting fairly, the public won’t comply.

‘It’s all very well some people in Whitehall sabre rattling and banging the table that the police are going to enforce these rules, that doesn’t bring about compliance. The public seeing fairness does.’ 

Mr Barton said it was ‘no wonder’ some police forces were confused about how to enforce the Covid-19 laws, given some of the terminology used by the Government.

He added: ‘What we have got here is police in the past nine months have had hundreds of different rules sent to them.

‘In my day when I was policing we would have one piece of legislation a year, maybe a couple, and then we would have a training programme on how to enforce it. That space hasn’t been given to policing.

‘This is all based on the word ‘local’ and I have never seen that in legislation before.

‘None of those issues have ever been described by the law before, so no wonder there is some confusion out there.’

Criticism levied at the Derbyshire force came after a hard-hitting ad campaign was launched on TV last night, fronted by Chief Medical Officer Professor Whitty. He said that while vaccines provided ‘clear hope for the future… for now we must all stay at home’. 

Professor Whitty, who is the most trusted government figure on Covid, said the rapid spread of the virus was putting ‘many people at risk of serious disease and is placing a lot of pressure on our NHS’.

Dramatic images will carry the stark message: ‘Coronavirus. If you go out, you can spread it. People will die.’ 

Prof Whitty says: ‘Covid-19, especially the new variant, is spreading quickly across the country. This puts many people at risk of serious disease and is placing a lot of pressure on our NHS. 

‘Once more, we must all stay home. If it’s essential to go out, remember: wash your hands, cover your face indoors and keep your distance from others.

‘Vaccines give clear hope for the future, but for now we must all stay home, protect the NHS and save lives.’ The campaign also urges people to ‘act like you’ve got it’ adding that ‘anyone can spread it’.

But Professor Michie, professor of health psychology at University College London, said the Government needs to offer more support to enable the rules to be followed

She said: ‘What we know from this pandemic is what really motivates people is knowing there’s a really serious threat, knowing that what they do can make a difference and also knowing what they do can protect other people and their communities.

‘The behavioural committee of SAGE says consistently what we need is more support and enablement for people to adhere, not punishment.

‘For example one area where there’s really poor adherence, and has been throughout, is having to isolate at home for what is now 10 days.

‘Our own data shows only 30 per cent of people with symptoms are staying at home.

‘The reasons given are they may have caring responsibilities outside the house, they may need to get provisions, or importantly, they have to go out to work to get income.’

She also said the Government’s approach to setting out the rules should be ‘more creative and imaginative’ and employ famous public figures to get the message across.  

Professor Michie added: ‘What you need to be effective is have people who people trust and identify with.

‘Yes, experts and scientists are trusted a lot more than politicians but we should also think about people from people’s own communities that are respected, particularly young men who find adherence most challenging, and think about who they identify with and respect, and that’s often sports personalities, singers, people from film and television.

‘We should be much more creative and imaginative about the kind of people who are speaking out.’

Viewers have blasted the Chris Witty advert as ‘uninspiring’ and said the Government is hypocritical for issuing such harsh guidance when schools are allowed to remain open. 

Parents were yesterday urged by the Department for Education to ‘honour the spirit’ of the lockdown and keep children at home where possible as it emerged that attendance rates soared above 50 percent in some areas of England.

Jane Turnbull wrote: ‘This is less inspiring than watching paint dry.

‘They need to engage with young people. Inspire us to do the right thing not make us all doze off.’ 

Edward wrote: Schools are still open and are stating that there should be NO LIMIT on the number of children in school. 

‘Keyworker categories are now so broad that most schools are running close to 50 per cent. Criminal.’ 

England is now in its toughest and longest lockdown since last spring and may not emerge from it until all the most vulnerable groups have been vaccinated against Covid-19.

Current lockdown guidance instructs the public to limit exercise – including running, cycling, swimming and walking – to once per day, and says while people can leave their home, they should not travel outside their local area.

But officers cannot issue fines based on the distance travelled to carry out exercise.

The National Police Chief’s Council guidance reads: ‘UK Government guidance strongly requests that people do not leave their local area.

‘However, the Covid Regulations which officers enforce and which enables them to issue FPNs (Fixed Penalty Notices) for breaches, do not restrict the distance travelled for exercise.

‘Police officers will be inquisitive about why people are out of their homes and will explain the regulations and encourage people to comply.

‘Where people are breaching the regulations and are away from home without a reasonable excuse, they may be issued with a FPN. 

‘In situations where people are breaching the guidance not to travel out their local area but are not breaching regulations, officers will encourage people to follow the guidance.’ 

Ms Allen, 27, said she assumed ‘someone had been murdered’ when she saw a police van, a police car and several officers at the entrance of the open space. 

‘It was a short journey and only took about ten minutes,’ she said. 

‘I genuinely thought someone had been murdered or a child had gone missing; the place is normally so quiet. 

‘The next thing, my car is surrounded. I got out of my car thinking ”There’s no way they’re coming to speak to us”. Straight away they start questioning us. One of them started reading my rights and I was looking at my friend thinking ”This must be a joke”.’

The pair were also told their cups of Starbucks peppermint tea, which they bought at a drive-thru, were not allowed because they were ‘classed as a picnic’. 

Miss Allen added: ‘Crossing into a different county seems to have caused the issue but the border into Derbyshire is only a minute away from my house.’   

Ms Allen insisted that said she is taking the pandemic ‘seriously’ as her brother is a doctor working on a Covid ward in London, and her parents have both had coronavirus.

She said she drove to the reservoir as she knew it would be less crowded than near her house. ‘I’m self-employed but my business is closed and I’m trying to fill my time,’ she said.

‘I suffer from anxiety and when you go by the water you feel so much better. I live on my own for five days a week and the only thing I’ve got to look forward to is planning a walk with my friend.’

She said brush with the law was ‘very intimidating’ and had left her feeling scared of the police. 

Following outrage sparked by the officers’ response, the force is reviewing its Covid operations after getting clarification about the rules and the importance of the four Es: Engage, explain, encourage, enforce.

Ms Allen welcomed the review, telling the BBC: ‘We are happy to hear that Derbyshire Police have been told to not be so heavy handed with fines and return to the Four Es they were originally doing.

‘We are yet to hear anything regarding our fine but if we have managed to save somebody the worry of going for a walk and fearing they would be fined then we have done what we set out to do.’

Derbyshire Police said in a statement: ‘Driving to a location – where exercise could easily have been taken closer to a person’s home – is clearly not in the spirit of the national effort to reduce our travel, reduce the possible spread of the disease and reduce the number of deaths.

‘Each officer will use their professional judgement on a case-by-case basis, however, people should expect to be challenged and understand the clear reasons why they may be asked about their movements given the critical situation the NHS currently finds itself in.’

‘It is up to each individual officer on a case-by-case basis to decide what is reasonable as the legislation does not proscribe a distance.’  

Derbyshire Police insisted the distance was ‘at the discretion’ of individual officers and the trip was ‘not in the spirit of the rules’.

The force has previously been criticised for its heavy-handed approach to enforcing the restrictions, and in March released drone footage of dog walkers in the Peak District in an attempt to ‘shame’ them. 

And in March, the force dumped black dye into a famous blue lagoon in Harpur Hill near Buxton to prevent Instagrammers from posing for snaps during the lockdown.  

It comes as police forces nationwide upped up their enforcement of Covid regulations. 

The Broseley and Much Wenlock division of West Mercia Police tweeted last night: ‘There have been two reports of snowballs being thrown last night between 11 and 11.30pm.

‘This is obviously not a justifiable reason to be out of your house, this behaviour is likely to result in a £200 Fixed Penalty Notice for breaking the lockdown rules.’

In Aberdeen, two policeman knocked on a family’s front door after complaints from a neighbour and stormed inside as a woman shouted ‘this is my house, get out of my house’ and children screamed in the background. 

Two women, aged 18 and 48, and a 43-year-old man were charged in connection with assaulting police officers and threatening and abusive behaviour.

The footage immediately sparked controversy, with critics accusing the police of ‘oppressive’ behaviour for storming into a private house – while others argued they were just trying to enforce the Covid rules.  

At Euston, officers were seen stopping passengers this morning to ask where they were going. Barrister Alex Wright tweeted: ‘Good to see lockdown being taken seriously, but a sad sight that I’d have dreamed of seeing in London.’ 

Snowdonia National Park has now closed all its car parks to visitors to ‘protect our communities and the NHS’, as officials slammed the public for ‘disregarding’ the law. 

In an attempt to clarify the guidance, Leicester City Council’s public health director Professor Ivan Browne today urged residents to visit ‘your nearest park, not your nicest park’, Leicester Live reported.