Fewer than 1,000 fines have been issued in London for breaches of the Covid-19 legislation with most issued to young men on hot days, the Met revealed today.
In the first detailed analysis of enforcement in the capital, the force said that 973 penalty notices have been issued. Of these, 411 were given to people aged 18 to 24, mostly men, while another 286 were handed out to those aged 25 to 34.
At the same time, only 36 people have been arrested solely for Covid-19 offences since the lockdown powers were brought in.
Today’s statistics — which confirm that the approach of police in London towards enforcement has been more relaxed than in other parts of the country — also show that nearly half of fines were issued to white people and that another 22.6 per cent given to Asians.
Black Londoners, who make up 12 per cent of the capital’s population, received 26 per cent of the fines.
That means they have been disproportionately likely to receive the £100 penalty, which is halved if paid within 14 days, but doubled for a second offence.
The Met said that the reasons for this were “likely to be complex”, including the presence on the streets of larger numbers of young people — among whom the proportion of black Londoners is higher — and the “geographical distribution” of ethnic minority residents within the capital.
Assistant Commissioner Mark Simmons said that the Met had sought to avoid “unnecessarily criminalising” people and that many of those stopped by officers over breaches of the Covid-19 law had followed “police advice” to desist and not been fined.
