COVID-19 lockdown fines 'eroding public confidence', top cop warns

[dufus]

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton.

 

One of the state's most senior policemen has told officers that inconsistency and a lack of discretion in the enforcement of lockdown laws is eroding public confidence in Victoria Police.

 

In internal communications seen by The Age and issued to police on Monday, Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton urged police to issue fines for only the most blatant and deliberate breaches of the state's lockdown regulations.

 

Police have reversed a series of fines in recent days as officers and the public come to terms with extraordinary and unprecedented "stage three" restrictions on movement that prevent people from leaving their homes except for medical reasons, care-giving, grocery shopping, work and exercise.

 

"I am concerned that there continues to be an inconsistent approach from our members when enforcing the directives of the Chief Health Officer," Mr Patton said.

 

"This lack of discretion erodes public confidence in Victoria Police and undermines the great work being done by our people across this state.

 

"The lack of consideration for public interest is significantly impacting on how the community view Victoria Police."

 

In the past week, police issued a $1652 infringement notice to a 17-year-old learner driver practising with her mother. Officers fined one man for washing his car at a car wash in the early hours of the morning, and another was handed a notice for driving to go mountain biking. All three of those fines were later withdrawn.

 

Late on Monday night, police confirmed they had withdrawn two $1652 fines given to a couple who uploaded last year's holiday snaps to Facebook.

 

A police spokeswoman said on Monday that after an "extensive search" police were unable to find any record of people being fined for visiting cemeteries, in response to media reports. One mourner told The Age a worker at a cemetery in Melbourne's north turned her away. The spokeswoman said if anyone had been fined for visiting a cemetery, that fine would be reversed.

 

In the internal email, Mr Patton also cited an example where police fined people for painting the inside of a closed cafe.

 

The email was sent to sergeants and senior sergeants as a guide for the junior officers working for them.

 

Mr Patton said the authority to issue infringement notices was a health response to keep the community safe, and not an enforcement model.

 

"It is imperative that our actions reflect a community health approach and we rely on enforcement only for high-risk behaviour which is blatant, obvious and deliberate," he wrote.

 

"Members should use discretion ... they need to weigh up if a person’s actions are placing others at risk or if a warning will suffice because we know most people are genuinely trying to do the right thing.

 

"Please encourage our members to use common sense and consider how they would feel if a family member received an infringement in those circumstances, or would a warning have been appropriate instead."

 

Mr Patton is reviewing the fines daily, a police source told The Age.

 

Questionable fines would be withdrawn in that review process. Anyone can request a review of their infringement notice through Fines Victoria. If that fails, people can have their

cases heard in the Magistrates Court.

 

About 250 Victorians were fined for breaching coronavirus social distancing laws over the Easter weekend. On Sunday, eight people playing loud music and partying in St Kilda East were fined, as were overseas tourists partying in a short-stay property at Cowes on Phillip Island, police said.

 

There were 1123 spot checks conducted as part of Operation Sentinel on Sunday, meaning 20,426 have been carried out since March 21.

 

The Flemington and Kensington Community Legal Centre launched a website – Policing COVID – to track police powers during the pandemic.

 

The centre said it had received reports that ranged from the inconvenience of being questioned by police outside homes or accosted while exercising, to more serious incursions such as searches or arrests. Some people reported interactions that were unpleasant, clumsy or that felt like they were "being interrogated".

 

One person reported being stopped after going for a walk on the beach with their 81-year-old father.

 

They said police asked them what they were doing, and why they shouldn't get fined, before they were told to go home. They claimed police followed them home.

 

"Police are taking it upon themselves to be precise about something that is ill-defined and imprecise to start with," legal centre chief executive Anthony Kelly said.

 

"The way these powers are being exercised is causing distress, it's changing people's behaviour, and not in a positive way, to just increase social distancing because people are already doing that."

 

Premier Daniel Andrews said on Monday "a lot of people are giving up a lot", but the alternative was to lose control of the disease's spread.

 

"There are acts of the parliament that give to the government extraordinary powers and extraordinary times," Mr Andrews said. "This is dynamic. These are things that have never been done before ... Police are doing a very good job in challenging circumstances."

 

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton last week said reviews of infringement notices requested through Fines Victoria would occur faster than the 90-day period normally allocated for fines. He said fines were being issued in fewer than 5 per cent of cases and the vast majority were for obvious breaches.

 

sorce

[humble3d]

Disorder and anarchy historically engender Martial Law...  :(