Police leaders warn new rules around face masks in shops will be 'impossible' to enforce

Police have warned it will be impossible to enforce new rules requiring people to wear face masks in shops.

The Government has said it will bring in new laws from Friday 24 July, that will mean anyone who does not wear a mask could be fined £100.

But within hours of announcing the rule change, the police said it was  “absurd” to ask them to enforce it.

Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, there were not enough officers available to hand out fines to those who flouted the law.

He said: "Shopkeepers need to step up to the plate and take some responsibility. They can quite easily put signs up on their doors 'No mask on, no entry, this is private property'.

"That's the first point we need to get across because this cannot all be laid on the shoulders of the police yet again.

"The second point is it will be nigh-on impossible for enforcement because you won't have a police officer on every shop door because there isn't enough of us.

"If a shopkeeper calls the police because someone hasn't got a mask on, they haven't got the power to detain them so that person can just walk away.

"We'll be driving around and around London looking for people who aren't wearing masks, it's absolutely absurd."

The Government has been accused of inconsistency over the issue after Michael Gove said at the weekend he did not think it would be compulsory to wear a mask.

Critics have also questioned the sense of bringing in stringent new rules, but delaying their introduction for ten days.

Responding to the announcement the National Police Chiefs' Council issued a brief statement which said: "Once we have full details of the new legislation we will issue police officers with guidance on their role in enforcement."

Paul Griffiths, the president of the Police Superintendents' Association said: “We have to be really pragmatic about this. There will be a real emphasis on retailers to play a specific role in restricting entry to stores for those not wearing an appropriate face covering. Getting the police involved really does have to be a last resort.

"We went through a very steep learning curve on the first introduction of enforcement but it did settle down with officers understanding the best approach to all this. I hope that lots of early learning would translate to this type of enforcement.”

John Apter, the chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said relying on the police to enforce the rules should be the “very last resort”

He said: “The announcement from Government that face coverings for those entering shops will be mandatory will, without doubt, add pressure to police officers who are already being stretched to the limit.

“The vast majority of the public have complied with the lockdown rules so far and I would hope that will continue and the public will do the right thing and wear face coverings in stores to help protect fellow citizens.

“I would call on Government to ensure there is an obligation on all shops to make the wearing of face coverings a condition of entry. If not, individuals should not be allowed entry.

“Where possible retail outlets could provide face coverings for those who need them to help encourage compliance.

“Enforcement must be the very last resort and involve only those few individuals who blatantly ignore guidelines and are a clear health risk to others.

“Only as this last resort should the police get involved. To expect my colleagues to be policing the supermarket aisles, looking for those shoppers not wearing a face covering, is unrealistic and unfair.

“We simply don’t have the resources, and this would fundamentally undermine the model of policing which is to police by consent.

“Of course, there will be occasions where police will have to get involved, and that shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody. However, this should be the exception as police officers have more than enough to deal with by policing the pandemic and responding to the many other calls they receive.”

But a senior police source said there was anger that the police had not been consulted about the sudden announcement.

The source said: “There is a real question about how we ended up in this situation. The Government has been swaying left, right and centre on this issue and suddenly they have come in with the option of enforcement. It would be fair to say there was no discussion with the police ahead of this decision being announced.”

“The frustration for us is that this will almost certainly lead to conflict between shoppers and conflict between customers and shopkeepers and it will be the police who are called into to deal with it.”

But retailers have expressed concern that denying customers entry to shops because they are not wearing masks could lead to “flashpoints” and even violence.

James Lowman, chief executive of the Association of Convenience Stores, said his members were still waiting for the Government guidance, but had been told the rules would be based on the Scottish model.

“We will encourage our members to engage with the public and explain the rules, but we want to avoid confrontation. The safety of staff is paramount.

“We are concerned that the new rules might lead to confrontation between customers arguing with one another so we need to understand what to do in those situations.

“Our understanding is that there will not be a requirement on shop staff to report breaches of the rules to the police.”

He added: “We are pleased that the legal responsibility for enforcing this policy will rest with the police rather than shopworkers, but in reality it will be retailers and their colleagues trying to communicate and explain this to people with different views and approaches to complying with this policy.”

Retailers have also pointed out that the police rarely respond to reports of low level shoplifting so there are concerns regarding the response rate once the rules around face masks are introduced.