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Top officer Neil Basu warns police against 'overzealous' enforcement of coronavirus lockdown

Neil Basu: PA
Neil Basu: PA

One of Britain's most senior police officers has warned against “overzealous” enforcement amid the coronavirus lockdown, telling his colleagues their conduct will be remembered for generations.

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu demanded UK forces maintain the tradition of “policing by consent” but stressed individual officers should not be judged “too harshly” as they have been given unprecedented powers.

Writing for The Telegraph, he said officers must preserve "the trust and confidence of the public" amid complaints about the "overzealous" enforcement of social distancing rules in place amid the crisis.

It comes after criticism of a series of incidents at the weekend, where police forces fined individuals £60 for buying "non-essential" goods from shops and going for a drive out of “boredom”.

Police at a vehicle checkpoint in York amid the coronavirus lockdown (PA)
Police at a vehicle checkpoint in York amid the coronavirus lockdown (PA)

The senior counter-terror officer said: “Preserving the trust and confidence of the public in policing by consent is our mantra and has been since 1829. There will be a period of readjustment to our new responsibilities, which no police officer ever thought they would have.”

He continued: “Everyone in policing is acutely aware that how we police this pandemic will be remembered for many years to come.”

Mr Basu urged officers to heed calls by two of Britain's most senior officers, Metropolitan Police commissioner Dame Cressida Dick and Martin Hewitt, the chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), that "persuasion and education to do the right thing is our primary goal", rather than being too quick to impose punishments.

Meanwhile, the NPCC has denied a report in The Guardian saying it is drawing up new guidance for officers not to "over-reach" in their lockdown enforcements as a result of the complaints received.

"We are not rewriting our guidance to officers," the NPCC tweeted. "It remains the same as it was. Engage, explain, encourage and finally enforce. This is a fast changing situation and we, along with the public, are adapting as we go forward."

Earlier, former High Court judge Lord Sumption criticised Derbyshire Police for “shaming” policing traditions with “frankly disgraceful” tactics.

The force had been slammed for monitoring walkers with drones and dumping black dye in a lagoon to discourage people from travelling to the countryside.

Lord Sumption, 71, who retired from the highest bench in the UK in 2018 and is known for controversial opinions, told Radio 4: “This is what a police state is like. It’s a state in which the government can issue orders or express preferences with no legal authority and the police will enforce ministers’ wishes.”

It has been a week since Prime Minister Boris Johnson instructed the British public to “stay at home” and gave powers to police to enforce lockdown measures.

And on Monday, England’s chief scientific advisor said the rules are already starting to take affect.

Sir Patrick Vallance told Monday's coronavirus news briefing that social distancing measures are already "making a difference" and that community transmission of Covid-19 is thought to be decreasing.

The NHS is seeing around 1,000 additional patients admitted to hospital each day – a daily rise which Sir Patrick described as “stable”.

Some 9,000 Covid-19 patients are currently being treated in hospitals in England, up from around 6,200 on Friday.

Addressing reporters in Downing Street, he said of the admission rate: "That shows that it's going up not in an increasing amount but in a constant amount which may suggest that we're already beginning to see some effect.”

“I do expect that number to continue. I expect people coming every day to be about that, it may go up a little bit.

“And in two or three weeks you would expect that to stabilise and to start to go down a bit.”

His comments came shortly after the confirmed UK coronavirus death toll hit 1,408 – up 180 from 1,228 on Sunday.

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