More than half of all fines issued to people for coronavirus rule breaches in Gwent have yet to be paid.
New figures obtained by WalesOnline following a Freedom of Information request show that 60% of all Covid-19 fines issued by Gwent Police since last March have yet to be paid.
The figures from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) show that out of 444 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued by the force between March 1, 2020 and January 15 this year, 267 have yet to be paid.
174 fines have been paid, while three fines have been contested.
Anyone issued with a fine for coronavirus rule breaches is given 28 days from the date the fine was issued to pay it back.
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Anyone issued with a fine for coronavirus rule breaches is given 28 days from the date the fine was issued to pay it back.
The force have given out 99 fines during the most recent lockdown, which may fall within the 28-day time frame for repayment.
Reasons for fines being handed out include for meeting households or holding gatherings outside of what was permitted in the guidelines, a lack of wearing face coverings in public spaces and entering or leaving Wales without a reasonable excuse.
Recent statistics released by the NPCC showed that over 4,000 fines for Covid-19 breaches were issued by all police forces across Wales since the start of the pandemic. Read more about that here.
