Police Action to Stop Tier 3 Residents Travelling to North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire Police says it is carrying out high-visibility patrols along the force borders to discourage people from neighbouring Tier 3 locations from travelling into the area.

North Yorkshire Police say the collective effort to keep people safe and limit the spread of the Coronavirus is continuing in North Yorkshire and York.

Following the move from the national lockdown during November into new Tier 2 restrictions on Wednesday, the force says partner agencies from across the area are working hard to help residents, businesses and visitors to stay within the Government’s Health Protection Regulations.

While Scarborough, Whitby, Filey ans the rest of North Yorkshire entered Tier 2 on Wednesday many surrounding areas including Bridlington and the East Riding were put in the higher Tier 3 restrictions.

North Yorkshire Police says it is now carrying out high-visibility patrols along the force borders to discourage people from neighbouring Tier 3 locations from travelling into the area which increases the risk of infection.

Here is Superintendent Mike Walker

Superintendent Walker says there will be extra patrols during the day this weekend and around town centres in the evening.

At the same time as the border patrols, Local authorities and Trading Standards are leading the enforcement of business restrictions.

In particular, they say they will be visiting licensed premises where the serving of alcohol is allowed for consumption on the premises as part of a table meal – one that is expected to be served as breakfast, the main midday or main evening meal, or as a main course.

The police will only be required to attend such premises as a last resort.

Superintendent Mike Walker, lead for the North Yorkshire Police Covid-19 response said:

“The introduction of a new set of regulations for the public and business owners to follow raises inevitable questions about the policing and enforcement of those regulations. So I’d like to be clear and state that North Yorkshire Police’s approach to policing the pandemic remains unchanged.

“It is our responsibility to keep the public of North Yorkshire safe, and we take that responsibility incredibly seriously. It’s what every police officer and member of police staff come to work to do and quite rightly, what the public expect of us.

“So, until the threat this virus poses is eradicated, we will continue to play our part in containing it. We will continue to engage with the public when we are out on patrol in our towns, villages and cities and we will speak to people and explain the regulations and encourage them to adhere to the guidance.

“Enforcement does play a part in our approach. But as we have previously stated, it is taken as a last resort with those who believe that the same rules and regulations which apply to each one of us, don’t apply to them. We all know that it only takes the poor decisions of a few, to jeopardise the hard work and self-sacrifice of many.

“As we know, the best way to beat this virus is to work together, so we will continue to work closely alongside our local authority partners and other agencies to ensure our response is coordinated and effective.

“We police by consent, so we do need the support of the public to ensure we succeed in our collective task. So thank you to all those people and businesses who are working with us and have adapted to the new tiers and who are continuing to act responsibly for the safety of the most vulnerable among us.”