inews.co.uk/opinion/columnists/lockdown-needs-police-and-nosy-neighbours-stop-shaming-2537503
Lockdown will only work if the over-zealous police and nosy neighbours lay off
The biggest threat to willingness to abide by the rules is the minority indulging their inner busybodies
When the lockdown began, there was a lot of concern about whether people would comply with it. Young men, in particular, were reported to be too cavalier in their attitude to coronavirus, and rumours of people acting irresponsibly abounded.
It was a reasonable worry. If a reckless minority proved sufficiently numerous to undermine the strategy of social distancing, it would allow the virus to continue to spread.
These fears seem to have been misplaced. Not everyone has done the right thing all of the time, inevitably, but the data seems to suggest that levels of compliance with the lockdown started high and have stayed that way – so far
A number of factors have contributed. The obvious severity of the virus, and the dreadful death toll, is the most obvious reason. The clarity of the message – Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives – and the authority of the medical and scientific officers delivering it is another.
The Queen’s address to the nation came at just the right time to emphasise the importance of sticking to the rules. A staggering 24 million people watched her live on television, with goodness knows how many more viewing online or on catch-up.
Frankly, the Prime Minister’s misfortune in falling seriously ill with the virus probably brought an inadvertent benefit in terms of public information, too. Aside from the most barmy conspiracy theorists, his illness left no-one in any doubt about the danger of Covid-19.
While the lockdown has been observed widely and consistently, nobody believes that it will be sustainable forever. Even leaving aside the economic consequences, and the mental health impact, human beings are naturally restless. These conditions can be frustrating to abide by, and therefore the rules will inevitably start to fray at some point.
We don’t know how long that will take; we must hope that the lockdown lasts long enough to do its job. The question is what can be done to make that possible.
Some demand greater enforcement. More fines, stricter punishments, more aggressive policing. But while some sanctions are clearly necessary – for idiots holding house parties, or thugs spitting in people’s faces, for example – the truth is that it is impossible to sustain a widespread lockdown by force. There aren’t enough police officers to fine everybody feasibly, and – mercifully – this isn’t China
Instead, the fight against coronavirus rests largely on policing by consent, just like the fight against crime in normal times. The vast majority observe the rules not because they fear punishment, but because they choose to do so. They want to help to save lives and to get the country through this
The question is therefore how to preserve consent. After three weeks of life under lockdown, the biggest threat to popular willingness to abide by the rules is surely the minority who see this crisis as a licence to indulge their inner busybodies.
I don’t mean the people who rightly expect social distancing to be observed, and who reasonably ask that those around them follow the rules. Rather, I’m thinking of those who insist on inventing new and excessive restrictions all of their own, and who appear to be itching to set themselves up in judgment over others.
Depressingly, this pound store Stasi exist in officialdom as well as in the civilian population. There are numerous examples of their petty and pompous work. Think of the nosy neighbour who spied on Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick’s parents and shamed them in the national press for the sin of receiving food and medicine from their own son. By punishing something which is allowed, that person makes it harder for people to give and receive the support required for vital self-isolation.
Last week, the Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police threatened that officers might start “checking baskets and trolleys” to ensure every item in people’s shopping was “necessary”. He seemed to have failed to understand the guidance or the law; shopping trips must be justified by a need for essential items, but everyone is free to also buy non-essential items while they are on such a trip
In South Yorkshire, a police officer was filmed telling a family they were not allowed to sit or play outside in their own garden, again without any basis in reason or law.
And Sam Halms, an NHS nurse in East Anglia, received a note denouncing her for driving to work. It read: “I have been watching you travel every day in your car. You are not in uniform, so this is clearly unessential travel. You are part of the problem… You have been reported
These busybodies, not their victims, are “part of the problem”. Every malicious snooper, every nasty note, every individual taking it upon themself to enforce made-up rules, strikes a blow against the precious consent that will keep the lockdown working!