The government has strengthened Police enforcement powers in England to reduce the spread of coronavirus, protect the NHS and save lives.
From today (Thursday), if Islanders do not comply with the order to avoid non-essential travel then the Police may issue a £60 fixed penalty notice, lowered to £30 if paid within 14 days.
Officers of the law can also instruct individuals to go home, leave an area or disperse.
If someone is caught by Police a second time they will be issued with a £120 fixed penalty notice, doubling on each further repeat offence.
Individuals who do not pay a fixed penalty notice under the regulations could be taken to court, with magistrates able to impose unlimited fines.
If an individual continues to refuse to comply, they will be acting unlawfully and the police may arrest them where deemed proportionate and necessary. However, in the first instance the police will always apply their common sense and discretion.
Home Secretary Priti Patel has said:
“The Prime Minister has been clear on what we need to do: stay at home to protect our NHS and save lives. All our frontline services really are the best of us and are doing an incredible job to stop this terrible virus from spreading.
Article continues below this advertisement “That’s why I’m giving the police these new enforcement powers, to protect the public and keep people safe”.
Individuals are only be allowed to leave their home for the following very limited purposes:
- shopping for basic necessities, as infrequently as possible
- 1 form of exercise a day – for example, a run, walk or cycle – alone or with members of their household
- any medical need, to provide care or to help a vulnerable person
- travelling to and from work, but only where they cannot work from home
Participating in gatherings of more than 2 people in public spaces is also not permitted except in very limited circumstances, for example, where it is for essential work purposes.
About time to it Might just stop the aimless wandering of people who are Not working, apart from in the vital services or those who are working from home. Those who have come to their second homes should now be contained. All this legislation is for our own good in the long term.
Legislation is ‘for our own good’ – but the key is in interpretation of that legislation.
In your example you consider it fine for people to go aimless wandering in their own homes, most peoples homes are too small for that. As for containing second home owners, well if they follow the self-isolation period and then the current legislation on being out and about then they are at no more risk of harming others than anyone else.
To Bumbleboo, the UK government repeatedly requested “essential travel only” so why the hell have people left their primary residence and travelled to a second home? Irrisponsible, selfish idiots, that’s who. Thinking only of themselves, not the people of the IOW or the NHS….
First bit of good news in ages!! Well done!
Police apply common sense???? What about the ones that fined 3 healthcare workers on the island who were in the same car, they should be ashamed of themselves the scummy arseholes , then they wonder why people don’t like police
You really shouldn’t call our police officers Scum! They have to deal with scum every day, just think for one moment, if your in trouble because of scum the police are the first call you will make.
You seem to have some kind of hatred towards our police force WHY????
If they really did fine them it flies in the face of everything the senior officers are saying about officers using their common sense, starting with advice and warnings and only using fines and powers of arrest if people take no notice.
To Baldy, totally agree with Clare, have some respect, don’t call police scum. They do a fantastic job in a world that is full of violence, drugs, murders, you get the picture or are you not aware of everything that’s occurring around us these days. Idiotic comment you made. You or a member of your family just might need their help one day.
It’s getting really serious now, Guys & Gals 🙁
what about the poor drug dealers (many are self employed but do not have 3 years accounts) – lets hope the police will be lenient and let them continue their trade!
Already out and about burning peoples out of their ‘charity’ paid for homes on the quaint Isle.
Oh yes about time something was actually done …..to many people just don’t get how serious this is…..we won’t wake up in the morning and it all be a dream….this reality it could KILL YOU
What about the poor drug dealers (many are self employed but do not have 3 years accounts) lets hope the police will be lenient and let them continue their trade!
Is it a daft question? Can I deliver shopping to my Mum?
yes its classed as essential but don’t go in her home or have physical contact
Not if she lives here, but YOU live in London. But if I were you, I would care for her whatever the law says. Family and love is more important than a fine anyway. Just stay safe both of you
Put it on her doorstep
Hope police enforce this
Hope this applies to holiday makers too.
Good. Let’s hope everyone follows the rules. Don’t forget this weekend clocks go FORWARD 1 hour people. ☺️☺️
What about the poor drug dealers (many are self employed but do not have 3 years accounts) lets hope the police will be lenient and let them continue their trade!
Wot about me? I run a string of whores! – can’t get them out on the streets!
I had hoped that the introduction of these powers would be clarification about exactly what constitutes an acceptable level of exercise – 30 minutes, 5 minutes, an hour?
Also, how frequently is “as infrequently as possible” for shopping? With online food services totally overwhelmed and holding off fir as long as possible could lead to problems and empty supermarket shelves.
Leaving things vague leads to confusion and people putting themselves and others at risk; either inadvertently because they misinterpret the guidelines or deliberately because they exploit the lack of clarity.
To pre-empt the inevitable trolls – not leaving your house is not practical or sensible both from a practical, physical or a psychological perspective which is precisely why the guidelines allow you to do it for specific purposes. Neither is just shouting “lock ‘em up”.
Mostly common sense Mark – nobody should need 5 hours of exercise in one day and as long as we keep away from other people it doesn’t matter if it’s 10 minutes or 45 minutes. I would personally say that more than 1 hour per day is unnecessary. I agree with your point about shopping though – I think the Government should have said ‘aim for a maximum of once a week’ i.e. so we don’t keep popping into the local shop twice a day every day for one or two items
I agree – common sense should prevail since every case is different – We all have different needs and live in very different areas so a “one size fits all” rule is problematic.
Having said that, there are proper medical guidelines on the amount of exercise people need to take which could form the basis of government clarification yet, puzzlingly, have not as yet.
A brisk 30 minute brisk, for example, is something that is often quoted as a daily minimum for most people.
With the guidelines as vague as they are some people will be afraid that the police will be waiting to pounce on them and issue a fine if the put their nose out of the door – the police don’t exactly have a good reputation In many people’s eye at the moment. (Deservedly or not)
How long will this go on for ? Or will it just carry on and control ppl plus will the police have a target to reach, To put in there coffers wait and see Be lucky and stay safe ps hope when they approach you they keep 2 metres from you as that part of the safety precautions
Maybe they should start by taking a drive through the car park on Brading Downs. People sat out having picnics today.
I drive from newport to ryde every night to work, and haven’t seen one police car or officer about for weeks. I wish they would park up and stop every car asking where they are going. I see groups of teenagers every night on my way to work. Makes me angry.
“Going for a drive when not essential is not permitted. Travelling to the countryside for exercise is not permitted”.
Am I allowed to take my other half to work and go straight back home rather than her get the bus if shes a key worker?
Yes
Are people still allowed to drive to a remote area to have a walk, thus isolating not seeing anyone. This needs further clarification I feel for the public.
I think it’s about being reasonable – if you live on the island in a busy built up area where you’re likely to be walking past loads of people as soon as you step outside, I think it’s safer to get in your car (if you have one) drive 10 minutes to the seafront and exercise there – there will be fewer people and it’s easier to stay away from each other. What would be irresponsible is to be living in say, London and driving to Brighton for a walk.
We’re very lucky on the island that we have more space and the seafronts aren’t far away for many people (but don’t tell the mainlanders I said that…)
No!
You can only walk from your house, it’s quite clear.
I don’t think it is clear – show me/tell me (website link?) where the Government says ‘You can only walk from your house’. I will stand to be corrected on this. Straight away we can cycle so that’s not walking.
We live on a main road and cannot safely walk our dog from our house. There is supposed to be a 40mph speed limit in our road. It appears that some motorists and motor cyclists do not understand speed limits and since travel restrictions were introduced more excess speeding is occurring.And I mean very excessive. So this means we have to drive to a safe area to walk our dog.Will the Police allow us to proceed to our destination by understanding our reason for travelling I wonder?
I watched an interview on TV where the guy said it was safer to drive to a remote spot to exercise or walk your dog than walking the same street as many others … I agree this needs clarification as we have many walkers where I live and yet the downs are close with hundreds of acres of space
I think it’s perfectly acceptable for islanders to drive to a quieter place (not from one side of the island to the other!) if it means you can walk/exercise more safely (than outside your home) i.e. with fewer people around you. If you get in your car and drive somewhere ‘quiet’ but when you get there it’s ‘heaving’ then go somewhere else. I don’t see how this should be a problem – the worst police would do (first time) is instruct you to go home, but if you explain your reasons they would be stupid not to agree it’s safer.
It is very important that people exercise out of the house at the moment for the sake of their mental health and domestic life. We do not want to see an increase in domestic violence and child abuse. Some young families have very cramped accommodation without even a garden to use. As long as people obey the rules about social distancing and do not travel outside of their local community there is not a problem. Maybe leave shoes outside the house upon return home, do not touch surfaces when out or other peoples pets and wash hands when arriving home! Just common sense really. Lets just all get on with this together as a team and we will be okay.
shoes outside??
I don’t see any harm in going out for a drive with the family members you are living with so long as you don’t get out of your vehicle or wind your window down to talk to others until you get home. The only people you would be in contact with are those you are living with.
I have to go out to get shopping once a week, and yesterday it was so difficult trying to maintain distance because of ignorant people keep coming up close without a thought. One great lumbering thicko in a small corner shop kept almost barging into me and had to be told by the shop owner to stop touching produce as he kept handling food and then putting it back on the shelf. This particular young idiot was not a mentally ill PTSD-suffering war veteran, just for the information of “Alan” who tried to suggest such was the case, when I related how another feckless young a**hole threatened to spit on and give “the virus” to staff in the Co -op because they refused to sell his drunken girlfriend any more booze. At least the government is bringing in laws now so that such vile people can be prosecuted.
The main reason for this lockdown now is because they don’t want too many people getting infected and dying all at once, because the system won’t be able to cope with it. When the lockdown is relaxed, the virus will start spreading again , this is so worrying. One lady on the mainland died from the virus, after only visiting Asda once a week. A young diplomat and a young woman both dead from it, so don’t let young people think they are immune.
Let’s hope Prince Charles, Boris and other members of the government have a speedy recovery.
A good honest post, and I did laugh when I read your description of the ‘Great Lumbering thicko’. Sadly, this ‘sort’ has been prioritised by Governments, and consequently, often, they feel they are more ‘worthy’ than they are, and many end up arrogant. expecting to always be ‘put first’
Not too many years ago, to have a damaged child, one would have been embarrassed, now the more ‘disorders’ it has, the more the parents know they will ‘claim for such’ and even schools fall over backward to encourage such in, as they too get more grants etc despite these beings ruining normal childrens educational progress. They should be forced into special schools as they once were, or the parents pay out of their money for private tutors.
We need to give the limited resources which will now be in ever shorter supply to those who are going to be a boon to our society, not the wasters, takers, and imbalanced. Sure the latter can’t help their position, but the parents and they, should not be ‘given’ more money and more help as a kind of social ‘sympathy’ payment, and then have a mobility car, and then STILL get day trips out with paid for helpers, let the parents take out their own ‘loving’ child, why should society pay for such as well as disability, the mobility and paid for careers too.
Usually they are happy with simple things in life anyway so don’t need much spending on them, just time and love from their parents and family, not the council tax payers having to dig deeper each year.
What a vile statement these BEINGS ruining NORMAL children’s education
What a mean and judgemental person you are , who has clearly no understanding of how difficult it can be for some parents who are raising children with difficulties, i am lucky enough not to have had this struggle with my own children but i know a fair few parents who have, or are in this situation and they are good, working couples who’s children are not draining class room resources or anything of the sort but just need some extra support in or out of the class room , which alot of the time is creating another job for someone , they pay their taxes , so why shouldnt they get some help , and i can guarantee if you were ever in that situation you would do anything you could to help your child towards a better future , and if you can say you wouldnt there is clearly something very wrong with you .
scumbag alcos are on the grassed area next to ryde pier again quaffing booze – one is absolutely slaughtered. no police patrols
Yet when these useless waste of life’s are given a hostel and I say it is a waste of our council tax, I get thumbs down. You lot can’t ‘have it’ both ways.
Reply to None Given – 10 years of cutbacks in this country by bloody Theresa May including 20,000 police officers made redundant. Too few on the streets now. I will say again, put the army on the streets, the irrisponsible idiots who are out won’t know what’s hit them!
There were 3 young idiots lurching along the pavement yesterday, effing and blinding, all walking too close to each other, taking up all the space on the pavement, so no one walking past would have been able to get out of their way without having to walk into the road, thankfully there was no traffic about. I don’t think those sort of people will ever learn to be any different because they are full of themselves and so arrogant they won’t allow anyone to tell them what to do.
Local neighbours in South Street, Ryde are having parties at their house. No respect for social distancing with many elderly in the locale. Moreover, their parties are in the garden, with a fire pit and last all night with consideration to any neighbours. They are still partying when we get up in the morning. Extremely selfish numbskulls.
Phone the police – they should come down an break it up
Just spoke to a food retailer who is afraid to open because of the possibility of vigilante action if they do because some people think their type of shop is non-essential even though it is on the government’s list of important business types and they have taken advice about how to keep their customers safe.
Three days for islanders to descend to the point of mob rule – that has to be some kind of record.
Just think sometimes people are a little bit too quick to judge and or condemn other people , i go for one walk a day ( in compliance with the government ) and am frankly getting sick of death glares and people shouting abuse , im not doing anything wrong and i would just like to remind you whilst you are shouting from the safety of your car , you are out as well ! We all know this is serious but lets not make each others lives any harder than it already is , so next time you see someone out keep your comments to yourself , stop thinking you know it all and think maybe this person is walking to the shop or doing the one bit of exercise they are allowed a day and dont want it ruined .
How can you enforce a fine on someone who has no money because the government closed down their employer?
Make them claim UC and take it out their benefits
Is it alright to drive to a remote part of the island to have a walk, I don’t live far from culver downs would that be ok rather than walking around the street in ryde
Problem being, on narrow sections of paths, you may meet others doing similar, and the vapour of breath can swarm with virus, unseen. You know when you pass a smoker, the smell surrounds that person, well the tiny virus will be similarly active in close proximity.
Also gate latches, styles, and anything you touch may cause the virus to be transferred.
I you went early and kept away from everyone, and touched nothing, I imagine you would be safer than at home, but whether it is legal to do so now, I very much doubt.
Maybe the Police may answer on here?
The virus is not airborne, to get it from someone’s breath you would need to be a couple of inches away from their face. So, unless you go around kissing strangers or shouting, sergeant major style in their face you cannot catch it that way.
The two metre social isolation gap is to reduce the chance of fluid transfer if someone coughs, sneezes or physically touches us, we do not all walk around in a cloud of infectious gas.
Please read the official government guidelines if you don’t believe me.
There is a lot of misinformation out there that is causing panic and prejudice – please don’t give it credence and make a difficult situation worse by spreading it.
So, if that is so, then we are safe to pass others so long as neither cough, or spit accidently when they speak. Better not to talk until passed by some distance I guess. Is this FACT Mark as so many unknowns and various info on the net.
My point exactly – what has caused publicity on this problem is 100’s of people parking up at Snowdonia, which of course is wrong. On the island, there are 100’s of quiet places to go to and I think sitting in your car with the windows up has got to be ‘safer’ than riding a bicycle breathing or coughing & sneezing as you pass people! The other side of the coin is that if one is allowed to drive to a quiet place, then everyone does it so it becomes a huge problem. I’ve tried exercising/walking from my house and I pass loads of people doing the same on narrow pavements, which has got o be more of a risk, particularly when some people (mainly young) make no effort whatsoever to keep their distance – had one young fella do this yesterday glaring at me as he walked towards me (I was as far over my side I could be – he was in middle of pathway). It’s not easy, all this, is it…
3 young idiots lurching along effing and blinding yesterday, all too close to each other , taking up all space on the pavement. no one walking past would have been able to get out of their way without having to walk into the road to do so, thankfully there was no traffic about but those sort of ignorant scummy people won’t take any notice of anyone as they are full of themselves and arrogant, they just don’t care, they seem to have the mind set that no one is going to tell them what to do.
First KFC shuts down now this.
What is the world coming to?
Maybe the police could be out there breaking up groups over the amount 2,but when you have half wits rolling cars, starting fires and just generally being a complete pain in the arse. There is always a reason why somebody dislikes the police!!! Makes you wonder why. Its not the police that are scum
They should have stopped the ferrys
To.none essential travel.wks ago
We wouldn’t have a problem look at the isle of man . Why becous you have to.be rich to.li e there.
Um… the Isle of Man have 26 confirmed cases to our 8 despite having a smaller population.
Government rules about non-essential travel applies to the ferries already, the reduction in passenger numbers seems to indicate that is generally being obeyed.
Sorry to disappoint but drunk teenagers and arsonists are likely to be home grown.
Their friends and parents will be islanders too and either ignoring their behaviour or, quite likely, in need of support.
In need of support? They breed too much! That is the problem. Too many scummy families, you never need to wonder if scummy people have kids, they nearly always do, whereas more polite , nice people, often don’t have kids at all.
What a shame it has to come to this. Most of us just stay in,order food locally for delivery and go out for a short walk well away from others. It is the minority who don’t. I hope the police use this power sensitively and that it is revoked very soon.