Coronavirus: PSNI chief says ‘we will enforce lockdown’ – but powers still vague

However, he was unable to say what his officers will actually do to deter offenders, as it continued to remain unclear tonight what exactly the PSNI’s new powers will be.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne believes that when thgey come, the new powers will be “very similar” to officers in England.

The News Letter has tried for days to establish what kind of punishments may be in store for people in Northern Ireland who break the de facto home curfew, or who fail to obey social distancing advice.

The PSNI, Executive Office, and Department of Justice have all been pressed to answer, but details remain vague.

Speaking tonight, First Minister Arlene Foster said the Executive would work with the PSNI around “appropriate” levels of fines for people who risk spreading the pandemic further.

According to media in England, the fines there reportedly start at £30.

They stem from the “Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020” – which are now in force.

This means police can order members of the public to go home, leave an area, have the power to disperse a group, using “reasonable force, if necessary” and can make arrests if someone refuses to comply.

Those who ignore the restrictions on movement could be hit with a £60 fine initially – reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days – and another for £120 for a second offence.

It is also underestood those who do not pay could be taken to court and risk facing costs for unlimited fines.

Refusing to provide a name and address to avoid being given a fine is an arrestable offence. Officers can also take steps to make sure parents are stopping their children from breaking the rules.

Chief Constable Byrne indicated the powers at his disposal are a matter for the Executive, adding: “Discretion and common sense remain at the heart of policing.

“Officers will be told to engage with the public, to explain what the new powers are, to encourage people to adopt them and to go home and to stop their work.

“But equally, if we have to we will enforce the law once the new powers are with us and are made clear.”

Employers who “exploit” workers by flouting restrictions should feel “shame”, and could lose out on future public sector contracts Stormont’s deputy first minister has warned.

Michelle O’Neill said the Executive was receiving reports of workers “being given no option by their employers other than to go to work, whenever it’s not safe for them to do so – that has to stop”.

Arlene Foster meanwhile noted the Health and Safety Executive has enforcement powers, and urged employers to comply now.