POLICING
Stricter lockdown measures have been announced in Leicester because of a rise in coronavirus cases in the city. Leicestershire Police immediately stated they don’t know how to enforce the localised lockdown in place for least two weeks. Chief constable Simon Cole said his force was “thinking about all of our options”.
Leicestershire County Council has issued a statement but the “increased restrictions” remain guidance rather than the law until new regulations appear.
Announcing this lockdown, Health Secretary Matt Hancock confused two areas, forcing Bradford Council to tweet a message saying: Just to calm everyone down a bit… There’s no new COVID-19 spike in Keighley. Matt Hancock confused Keighley with a different area on TV and radio this morning. Please keep maintaining social distance & washing hands so we don’t need to announce a local outbreak in the future.
The police face a call for all lockdown fines to be reviewed. The letter to the National Police Chiefs Council (.pdf) was signed by human rights groups, parliamentarians and lawyers.
Around the country, police forces have been issuing apocalyptic advanced warnings about “Super Saturday”, with pubs due to open this weekend. Police have said they will adopt a zero-tolerance policy in Somerset and are preparing for “a circus full of drunken clowns” in Lancashire. West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson, who previously warned his force was planning for a huge increase in crime in June and July, has said he fears the threat of “serious disorder”.
COMMENT
The policing of lockdown and the Black Lives Matter protests demonstrates the insidious nature of racist policing in the UK. Strong piece by Michael Etienne.
“Laws are … meaningless if they’re misapplied or if they’re applied unequally“. Video comment by Kirsty Brimelow on Dominic Cummings.
RESOURCES
On the 100th day of lockdown, Big Brother Watch has published their June Emergency Powers & Civil Liberties Report (pdf). The report examines the impact of the coronavirus response on civil liberties in the UK throughout the month of June, 2020 – based on our blog Policing The Corona State!
New eBook with the input of 61 Free University Brussel researchers around #COVIDー19 on diverse topics from education to robotics, with a chapter on surveillance and privacy by Rosamunde van Brakel and Paul de Hert, free download, in Dutch though.
Policing the Corona State 