Lockdown could be ‘unpoliceable’ next weekend, police warn

Police chiefs have warned the lockdown is slowly ebbing away with some warning that any further loosening will make key aspects “unpoliceable”.

Several told the Guardian that more people were going out by foot and road, and there were clear signs of people getting tired of lockdown. At least one force said it was scaling back part of its enforcement for fear of losing public support.

The warnings come ahead of a long bank holiday weekend to mark VE day, with the forecast warm weather expected to tempt people to go out after six weeks of restrictions.

West Yorkshire police assistant chief constable, Tim Kingsman, said: “At present, there has been no relaxation of the rules, so people shouldn’t be thinking about large gatherings such as street parties.”

Merseyside police said they would be stopping cars at random and that last weekend they had broken up parties with some people travelling from outside Merseyside to attend.

One chief constable in the south of England said his force expected to be busier than on New Year’s Eve, with almost half the calls from the public “snitching” on people allegedly breaching the lockdown.

He said: “The public are getting tired. There’s about a 10% increase in foot and road traffic compared to the start of the lockdown.

“People were reluctant to go out, they are less reluctant now. Most are complying but there is a slow, marginal growth of people not observing it.”

Source: (The Guardian)