No willy-nilly fines

Chief constable says force will show discretion

Devon and Cornwall's top cop Shuan Sawyer says his force must show discretion when making decisions about how to deal with people out and about during lockdown.

The chief constable says he's repeating his message from the first lockdown in March last year. "When covid's over we must still have a reasonable relationship with the public. Policing in Devon and Cornwall is by consent, and we have a law-abiding public, so no-one wants to be silly and issue notices willy-nilly. That's why we want to have the conversation."

However, Mr Sawyer is "frustrated" at the number of motorists on the roads. "We are going to enforce," he says, "and there's an awful lot of activity and an awful lot of activity if this carries on....Essential means essential. If you have to do something, of course please go about it. But if not, please regulate yourselves. A thousand people are day are dying. You know what to do. Please do it."

However Mr Sawyer says admits of the guidance is complex. He says he recognises some people in the region are concerned about visitors from outside Devon and Cornwall coming to the peninsular. They're using automated number plate recognition to check movements. "If they don't have a legitimate purpose they're turned around, sometimes with a ticket."

He wants other groups to be nearer the top of the queue for the covid vaccination rather than police, but thinks they should be prioritised to some degree.

This interview is from BBC Spotlight.