4 people sentenced to 3 weeks in prison for breaking quarantine

[mosquitofeast]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-52286369

or 6 weeks if they broke quarantine twice.

AIBU to think thank goodness the rules are being enforced, and this should be happening far more widely.

Fines are massive as well, ten thousand £

This is what we need, a bit of teeth in the regulations

Fucking finally!!!! ('scuse my French)

I remember several police forces refused to enforce fines unless it was a "last resort". I am not saying that people can't be allowed some leeway but goodness me, there may as well not have been a lockdown!

Unfortunately this is the Isle of Man, not the UK, so not particularly relevant.

Sorry relevant sounds rude, not what I meant.. more.. it's not likely to be replicated in the UK.

Isnt it in Australia somewhere where police are smashing car windows and dragging people out of their cars for refusing to give names, addresses and reasons for being out? Huge fines as well. I was agog watching the dude on the news go on about it.

Hardcore places that aren't in England. It's like we don't take it seriously enough.

I'm in favour of good guidelines.

I am not in favour of civil liberties being stripped with massive consequences if you disobey. Have people not read 1984?

Wasn't there something similar in Guernsey? Two men sent to prison for going to the pub when they should have been in quarantine.

MrsTP could not agree more. We are on a very slippery slope as it is.

Totally agree with MrsTP. Fucking horrifying.

Russia tried this.

Young people with symptoms stopped getting tested. COVID quickly spread throughout Moscow.

Sometimes harsh decisions have disastrous unintended consequences.

@mosquitofeast

Agree 100% but in mainland UK there simply is not the will nor police resources to enforce more than a few of these social laws. The problem is that if you want to imprison someone there has to be a case prepared, CPS agreement and a hearing, sentence and a prison cell. Unlike - perhaps - US we do not have a funded responding police force.

The police do - to a degree - enforce on "raves" and go in and seize the equipment.

It’s the Isle of Man, though, so will hardly affect many people.

Agree with MrsTP. I don’t think it’s it’s marvellous it’s chilling.

I agree - I'm definitely not looking for authoritarian crackdowns or massive state landgrabs. Of course we need to take covid seriously and have clear and sensible guidelines. But covid isn't the only thing that matters in the world.

Liberty is hard won and easily lost.

Isle of Man.

Not uk.

Am I missing something> That article is dated 14 APRIL.

YABU. Taking your alone dog on the beach for a walk, what a massive crime. And no charges brought against Dominic Cummings. What a democracy.

This is ridiculous. People will just avoid getting tested, fear of being put in prison if you dont follow the rules. I dont think this should be seen as a good thing.

@daisypond

It’s the Isle of Man, though, so will hardly affect many people.

Exactly. The entire Isle of Man has a population that is similar to an average town in the UK and has one prison that is half empty.

Entirely different set up to the UK's population of millions with overcrowded prisons that are unable to cope with current demand without adding extra pressure on the system.

The time for this was back in May when Dominic Cummings was flicking a "V" to the guidelines.

Too little too late is actually worse than fuck all forever.

Sorry - my lazy - not English / welsh / Northern Ireland or Scottish law.

They birched as punishment TIL the mid 70s.

This worries me a bit

I am not in favour of civil liberties being stripped with massive consequences if you disobey. Have people not read 1984?

Agree with MrsTerry.

This govt is riding roughshod over everything and everyone as it is, doing what they like, siphoning money off into the pockets of their cronies and breaking all the laws relating to parliament without any repercussions.

There will, sooner or later, be civil unrest if this continues, and they know it. They want police forces and courts to have become accustomed to dishing out worse penalties for going for a pint than they do for serious assaults.

Then when they need them to clamp down on people who are trying to maintain social justice, they won't think anything of it.

Softly, softly catchee monkey.

The time for this was back in May when Dominic Cummings was flicking a "V" to the guidelines

THIS ^

We do this in the UK. Make laW s and regulations and completely fail to enforce them. We need to decide which way to jump each time. Either don’t bother with a law we won’t enforce or make the law and follow through. We make ourselves ridiculous.

Agree with @MrsTerryPratchett I find it scary how many people are happy about the prospect of giving up all freedom over a virus that is mild for the majority of people. Insane.

Reading between the lines there were other factors at play here - they weren’t picked up for the first time and immediately prosecuted; it sounds like they were repeat offenders; and one even went out while having symptoms.