North Yorkshire Police issue warning over Fixed Penalty Notices
The amount issued has increased in the last week.
Last updated 4th Feb 2021
North Yorkshire Police say they're going to increase resources to tackle the breaking of lockdown rules.
It's as the number of Fixed Penalty Notices have increased across the region since last week.
143 have been issued in the past week (45 of those in York), compared to 87 last week.
Superintendent Mike Walker from North Yorkshire Police says: "We've issued 2,359 FPNs since the start of the pandemic, and 471 since the beginning of the third lockdown.
"Of the 143 in the last week, 86 were issued to locals and 57 to visitors. 10 were issued for outdoor gatherings and 62 for indoor gatherings.
"Due to the continual Covid breaches which clearly put the safety of the public at risk, we are going to respond by deploying more dedicated resources to support the enforcement activity.
"The public can expect to see more resources across communities, and can have the confidence to report Covid breaches via our website.
"The actions of one person can have a profound effect on the actions of others. By displaying the correct behaviour and attitude, it does influences others.
"Please keep sticking to the stay at home message".
Mike went on to talk about a potential prevalence of FPNs amongst younger people: "It may be overconfidence that they don't think they'll get the virus, or that they don't think they'll get caught breaking the rules.
"When we attend incidents, many said they didn't understand the rules - I can't believe this. While those in younger age groups may not be at a higher risk of dying, they post a great risk in spreading the virus to loved ones.
"It's vital that people do not break the rules. The risks around it are exceptionally high. We ask all age groups to work together on this".