LONDON, May 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nearly 9,000 people have received fines for flouting lockdown restrictions in England and Wales, new figures show.
Police have had powers to issue fixed penalty notices (rather than on-the-spot fines) for alleged breaches since March 26.
Figures released by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) show that in the month to April 27, police issued 8,877 fixed-penalty notices in England, and a further 299 in Wales.
Nearly 400 were for repeat offenders – with one individual given six.
Police can issue an initial £60 fixed penalty, which is lowered to £30 if paid within two weeks, before issuing £120 fixed penalties for second-time offenders – a fee which is doubled on each further repeat offence.
Guidelines have been issued to police over imposing lockdown, including a list of ‘reasonable excuses’ for people to leave their homes.
The UK now has 171,253 cases resulting in 26,771 deaths. — NNN-AGENCIES
