Sussex Police chief constable on lockdown measures: “Only if absolutely necessary will we enforce the law”

Chief Constable Giles York said officers would first engage with anyone found to be flouting the rules to stay at home.

He said: “Time and again it’s down to communication and engagement, explaining to people why it’s important.

“Only when all of that fails would we think about enforcement.”

Announcing the lockdown measures on Monday, the Prime Minister said police would have powers to disperse gatherings, including through fines.

But Mr York called on people to change their behaviour and not gather in large groups.

If they did, he said: “We will explain why it’s important to behave differently and only if absolutely necessary will we enforce the law to ensure that you disperse.”

Since the measures were introduced in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus and reduce demand on the NHS, Mr York said officers in Sussex had seen fewer and fewer people congregating in groups.

“From my own personal experience, I think I’ve seen a step change in people’s behaviour in the last week,” he said.

“I think we did have some officers in a park in Brighton yesterday asking people to move on, but on the whole, the vast majority of people seem to be getting it.”

Confusion over the measures have led some members of the public to call 101 or 999 with general coronavirus enquiries – which Mr York urged people not to do.

Some people had mistakenly been contacting police to report businesses still being open, which Mr York said would better be directed to the local authority.

People had also been calling to clarify the new lockdown measures and asking: “I need to go out of the house for this, if I do will you arrest me?

Mr York said: “I think it’s a case of follow the Government advice. If you are in any doubt, don’t go out.

“We are not going to give advice, that’s not how it works.”

He said he understood that people were ‘genuinely worried and frightened’, adding: “It’s great to see the community uprising of people trying to help eachother.

“I think that’s so inspiring.”

Amid the coronavirus crisis, Sussex Police is continuing to deliver its services safely and help people who need police assistance.

Adaptations have been made, with many people working from home where possible.

Mr York said: “Like every organisation, we have got a number [of staff] who are self isolating, there are not so many yet that services are significantly affected.”

However he said they were projecting forward and preparing incase more people should fall ill.

For example the force’s contact centre, which is usually based at Lewes, has been split into four locations – Lewes, Brighton, Gatwick and Haywards Heath – to further minimise the risk should one group become ‘disproportionately affected’.

The force is also continuing to train new recruits, with more than 60 joining last week.

Since the guidance to stay at home was introduced, Mr York said demand for police services had been reducing.

“Things like pub fights and road crashes, we are not getting nearly the number we might have expected before this,” he said.

However, the force had seen a rise in other areas, particularly domestic abuse and instances of scams, often targeting elderly people.

Any suspicious activity should be reported to police on 101 or online. People should call 999 in an emergency.

Going forward, Mr York said: “We are all in this together and I know that Sussex communities are responding well.

“The best help you can give us is changing your behaviour.

“Please follow government advice, stay at home and don’t gather in large groups.

“Please support everything the public services are doing at the moment.”