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Bristol Post
Bristol Post
National
Conor Gogarty

Police hand out 15 more fines in Bristol for lockdown breaches

Police handed out 15 fines to people breaking the coronavirus lockdown in Bristol during the last week.

Avon and Somerset police issued 304 fixed penalty notices – 120 of them in Bristol – as of May 8.

It means there have been 44 new fines across the force area, including 15 in the city, since May 1.

The force has recorded 18,615 incidents of suspected breaches since the lockdown came in on March 23.

That figure has risen by 2,164 in the last week.

The latest statistics on the different ways people have ignored the rules go up to May 1.

Up to that date, 70 per cent of the fines had been issued to people breaking the restriction on movement.

A further 15 per cent went to people who took part in gatherings.

And 14 per cent were handed to those who have failed to comply with an instruction.

There has been one incident of someone "obstructing a person carrying out a function under regulations", police say.

A penalty was also issued to a person who failed to comply with a prohibition notice.

It comes after we spoke to Bristol PC Ashley Tucker, who says he is attending around two lockdown breach call-outs a day, down from about five daily in the early period of restrictions.

He also revealed the hotspots for breaches and some of people's more bizarre reactions when spotted outside by police.

Last month chief constable Andy Marsh said: “We have an application that updates every 60 minutes and tells us where there are breaches.

“We’re deploying officers and PCSOs proactively to those hotspots to engage, encourage and explain, and on occasion take formal enforcement action against those that will not listen.

See the crime rates in your neighbourhood, powered by In Your Area:

“The public are policing themselves, by and large. I’ve been out across the force and seen remarkable levels of compliance."

Breaches can be reported on the Avon and Somerset Constabulary website.

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