More Unlawful Action?

[New Judge]

When will the police appreciate (and stick to) the extent of their powers?:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-56039285

Police were left "outnumbered" and "hugely frustrated" when hundreds of people gathered to sledge in snow.

Large crowds congregated to frolic on Newcastle's Town Moor and Flatts Lane Country Park in Middlesbrough on Wednesday and Thursday.

Covid regulations allow police to issue fines for organised gatherings but the rules do not apply for crowds consisting of individual households.

Cleveland Police said it was "taking up a lot of resources".

"You can see we're outnumbered," said PC Ritchie Robinson.

"If they're not going to engage with us and we can't explain and reason with them in an amicable manner we're going to have to start taking names and addresses and issuing fines."

It seems to be getting worse, not better.

[dannyk13]

NJ,I agree that the incident with the two girls was out of order, but in relation to the people in the snow it was not a matter of households(unless they were the biggest in the world) I saw the photograph of them and they were definitely not households.

[New Judge]

No they were not, danny. They were individual households who had turned up at he same place and the same time to do the same thing.

The police must accept that the way the law is written it is unenforceable in situations such as they faced. Their efforts to enforce it make them look foolish and brings them - and the law - into disrepute.

[THECORBYLOON]

NJ, which Regs were you quoting from?

[New Judge]

The wrong ones, I think, Corby.

There was an amendment on 5th January which omits paragraph 2 (2)(d) which I quoted. This just leaves the police to determine whether sledging is exercise or recreation.

Thanks for the pointer.