No coronavirus fines issued in South Yorkshire this month - but police warn they will get tougher on rule-breakers

Data published by the National Police Chiefs Council shows no fixed penalty notices were issued by the force between August 18 and September 21 – meaning the number of fines since March 27 remains at 375.

In total, 18,912 lockdown fines have been issued in England and Wales so far, though just 151 of these occurred in the five weeks to September 21.

The chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council said only a small minority of people are not following the rules and putting lives at risk.

Superintendent Paul McCurry, of South Yorkshire Police, said: "Police have always focused on engagement when responding to breaches of Covid restrictions.

"This has been entirely the right approach for the vast majority of people as they come to terms with new regulations and make personal sacrifices in order to adhere to them.

"In the main, officers have found that engaging with members of the public and explaining the measures has had a positive impact and they haven’t had to move to enforcement action."We are now, however, in a position where everybody should be familiar with what they are being asked to do.

"This is increasingly important as we approach the winter months, and so we are now adopting an approach which tackles cases of wilful non-compliance.

"We must all work together to protect our health service, and everyone has a personal responsibility to do this.

"The laws are in place to protect the wider public and any individuals or businesses who break these, will face tougher action."

South Yorkshire Police have given out five fines for failing to wear a face covering on public transport or in shops, with 84 elsewhere in England and Wales.

Separate data published by the NPCC shows no fines have yet been recorded by the force for people failing to self-isolate after returning from a country on the Government's quarantine list.

Just 38 of these fines have been issued across England and Wales, but NPCC figures showed hundreds of travellers suspected of breaking quarantine rules had not been traced.

Up to September 22, 4,114 cases were referred to police by health authorities.

Of these, 240 people were found not to live at the address they had given, and in 440 cases there was no answer when officers attended an address.

The vast majority (3,216 cases) were found to be complying with self-isolation rules, but 218 were in breach and were spoken to by officers to encourage them to comply.

NPCC chairman Martin Hewitt admitted there is no ‘foolproof system’ to stop people flouting the rules and that stretched forces would not get into a ‘manhunt scenario’ to find people who are not following the rules.He said: “We have to be reliant that most people will be responsible, will accept that personal responsibility and will be sensible, but equally, there also has to be a response that is proportionate.”

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