Despite Birmingham edging to lockdown, police respond to rise in illegal gatherings
Police in Birmingham broke up 70 such gatherings over the weekend, just hours after new voluntary restrictions were introduced to try to stave off a local lockdown in the UK’s second biggest city.
This article titled “People acting like Covid-19 isn’t out there, says West Midlands police chief” was written by Josh Halliday North of England correspondent, for theguardian.com on Monday 24th August 2020 08.53 UTCA police chief has warned that people are acting like “the virus isn’t out there” after a weekend of illegal gatherings in the West Midlands, despite Birmingham edging closer to a local lockdown.
Waheed Saleem, the deputy police and crime commissioner for the West Midlands, welcomed new police powers that allow fines of up to £10,000 for organisers of unlawful raves from Friday.
Police forces across the country have been dealing with a rise in unlicensed music events as the weather has improved. The increased fine comes into force ahead of the August bank holiday weekend, when senior officers expect many illegal gatherings to take place.
Saleem said he had accompanied officers breaking up illegal gatherings over the weekend, including raves, wakes and weddings.
Police in Birmingham broke up 70 such gatherings over the weekend, just hours after new voluntary restrictions were introduced to try to stave off a local lockdown in the UK’s second biggest city.
Saleem told BBC Breakfast: “I think people think the virus isn’t out there or it’s not going to affect them and they can carry on enjoying themselves in these gatherings, which isn’t the case actually because these gatherings are not just breeding grounds for the virus, but also breeding grounds for criminality.
“I welcome the increase in fines because I’ve been calling for these over the last couple of weeks because we’ve seen a steady increase in the number of these events across our patch.
“Although we could have done with these fines far earlier, I think these fines will act as a deterrent of people who are gathering, who are organising these illegal gatherings.
“We always try and engage and encourage and explain to people before we go into enforcement and so the majority of the public do listen, however there is a minority who don’t and a lot of people were also very annoyed that we are coming to break up these street parties.”
The UK’s second biggest city was placed on the government’s “watch list” on Friday as cases rose, prompting the council to suggest a series of voluntary measures that include limiting public gatherings to 30 people except for communal prayer and asking drivers and passengers in taxis to wear face coverings.
There will also be a pause on any areas of the Birmingham economy opening up which remain closed, such as nightclubs and conference centres.
Cases of Covid-19 are rising in the city, with 30.2 cases per 100,000 and the percentage of people testing positive up to 4.3%. More than half of cases in the last week have been within the 18-34 age demographic.
Under the new anti-rave rules, people taking part in any unlawful gathering of 30 people or more face a £100 fine. Those who have already been fined will see the amount double on each offence, up to a maximum of £3,200, while organisers face a steeper fine of up to £10,000.
The Metropolitan police said it had responded to more than 1,000 illegal events in the capital since the end of June, including 200 on a single weekend.
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