Police praise 'vast majority' for staying home over Easter
Last updated 14th Apr 2020
The vast majority of people in Scotland complied with official instructions to stay at home over Easter, a senior Police Scotland officer has said.
Deputy Chief Constable Malcolm Graham thanked people for making "personal sacrifices'' to help prevent the spread of coronavirus during the holiday weekend.
His comments came as a woman is facing court after Levenmouth Police said she had allegedly hosted a pool party in Fife.
A Police Scotland spokesman said the 57-year-old woman was charged in relation to a disturbance at Raven Crescent in Buckhaven, at around 3.40pm on Sunday.
Mr Graham stressed enforcement powers are used as a last resort.
He said: "Over the Easter weekend, the vast majority of people across Scotland have done the right thing by complying with the instruction to stay at home.
"I recognise how difficult this will have been, particularly for those who have been unable to enjoy the sunshine or spend time with their families and friends. People have made personal sacrifices and I thank them for that.
"Police Scotland has had officers out in communities, engaging with people, establishing their individual circumstances and explaining the risks to public health of failing to comply with the guidance.''
Mr Graham added: "Where people have defied that very clear advice, we have, as a last resort, used the enforcement powers available to us.
"The Chief Constable spoke on Friday of the public's overwhelming co-operation and commitment and we are grateful for their continued support as we all play a part in the collective effort to protect the NHS and save lives.''
On Friday, Chief Constable Ian Livingstone said more than 500 fines had been handed out to people flouting lockdown rules, including to break up house parties.
Statistics released on Friday showed police had used the emergency powers to make 35 arrests since March 27.
Police also used "reasonable force'' to return people home on 58 occasions.
There were a total of 537 fixed penalty notices issued, while groups were dispersed just under 1,900 times
Police Scotland was unable to provide figures for the number of arrests and fixed penalty notices issued under the emergency powers over the weekend.
Hear all the latest news from the North East of Scotland on Northsound 1. Listen on FM, via our Rayo app, DAB, or smart speaker.