Police scanning cars in a retail park to make sure shoppers are local

[NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1]

It's started.

South Wales police present in a retail/supermarket car park are scanning cars to make sure that people aren't shopping there from outside the area!

Coming soon to a supermarket near you no doubt!

Mark Drakeford specifically mwntioned rhis type of scenario, and made it clear that people whoived on boundaries where the closest shop is in another borough and rhat is where they usually shopped, that this was acceptable if it was not possible to do otherwise. He specifically said this in one of his briefings, so your friends/neighbours have been incorrectly advised.

That I can believe of Wales.

It’s really interesting reading how different things are in Wales to England.
Our area has been on localised restrictions since July, it’s illegal for us to mix with another household but we can still travel around the country as much as we like.

They can protest. They just cant do it in a locked down Borough unless theyblive in that locked down borough. Wales can srill have 30 meeting outdoors in any case.

There is no point in locking areas down if no one is monitoring it!

Exactly. How many times have we heard “they shouldn’t be adding restrictions, they need to police current ones better”

And then the police do that and are time wasting or over reaching.

I live in an area of low incidence & I still don't want coppers scanning cars down the local Tesco thanks

You’re happy for people to drag it in to your area then?

@caroloro

Mark Drakeford specifically mwntioned rhis type of scenario, and made it clear that people whoived on boundaries where the closest shop is in another borough and rhat is where they usually shopped, that this was acceptable if it was not possible to do otherwise. He specifically said this in one of his briefings, so your friends/neighbours have been incorrectly advised.

Mark Drakeford needs to brush up on the guidance published by the Welsh government as this states that they must obtain items from within the area even if they have to travel further. Unless WG recognise that it is unreasonable - in which case, they need to inform the shop who are refusing to serve people they know live in that small area of the borough. Either way, as @HeIenaDove said, it’s all kind of stupid.

And don’t get me started about when they need to grit those roads.

Should have attached.

Lockdowns don't work.

I must be imagining the serious drop off in cases both after the main lock down, and then after the local lockdown in the area where my parents live.

Of course lockdowns work. If people aren’t together they aren’t spreading Covid.

@Landlockedinlockdown

Maek Drakedord is correct (thankfully). It is the shop whonis wrong. The publiahed guidance clearly statea that peoole can crias the noundary for essentials when there is no reasonable alternative. Guidance is here gov.wales/bridgend-lockdown-frequently-asked-questions#section-50966 that's Bridgend but it is the same for all areas.

@Landlockedinlockdown we cross posted and rhe same document 😂 the phrase "reasonably be expected to obtain" is key here isn't it. For someone who drives, it probably is reasonable to expect them to travel an extra 10 mins. For someone who doesn't, that is not reasonable. If you know people who are being affected by misapplication of this guidance, I'd suggest they contact their Assembly Member urgently for support and clarity, as that is not the intention of the guidance.

good for them shame they didnt do it here

I suppose it depends what is seen as “reasonable”. FWIW, I agree that effectively driving past the shop to get back into BCBC is ludicrous and that the shop need to change their stance. I suppose they are just scared with the talk of fines for non-compliance.

TBH I can’t see police officers parking themselves over the rivers to check who’s crossing that particular boundary as I bet they don’t even realise it exists.

How would this work anyway? There are going to be people who are travelling from areas that their vehicle isn't registered to for legitimate reasons that are within government guidelines. So... Do they then have to contact all of these people and conduct investigations to figure out where they are and aren't allowed to be?

It all seems unlikely but I could be wrong.

@caroloro and cross posted again
Sadly, so much of the guidance is open to interpretation. Thankfully ours is less woolly than England but when it’s mainly English guidance that’s reported in the media, people can be forgiven for getting utterly confused as to what’s ok and what’s not.

No. Its old fashioned policing. They'll just sirectly ask the driver and occupants rhwn and there on the spot what thwir reason for being there is. Only repeat offenders will have any action taken (happened a couple od times last lockdown and made the news - holidaymakers who promised to turn round and rhen got sropped again by a different police force further into Waleas etc ). Ita true . Ive oiates screenshots from Gwent Police FB further up this thread where they are posting about these sorts of operations.

Yes I am glad we've got the guidance weve got rather than the English guidance.

Gods sake. The autumn version of patrolling the non essential aisles in the supermarket we saw earlier in the year. Do they really have nothing better to do?

My god this is insane! Are people seriously ok with our civil liberties being eroded like this!!!

Beggars belief how many people are just accepting/resigned to this. This is not what we have police for surely, to monitor people travelling to go shopping, what an absolute joke.

This really is no longer a free country is it if we can be grilled by the police for being outside our homes and be fined if we can’t establish we have a “good enough” reason. There really has to come a point surely where it needs to be questioned whether measures like this are actually a proportionate response to the threat of the virus.

@Staffy1

That I can believe of Wales.

What’s that supposed to mean?

Well the police were police stopping cars at Junction 28 (Bassaleg/Newport) today so nothing surprises me, OP!

Good to hear that the police are enforcing the rules, as long as they are using sensible discretion over what constitutes a reasonable excuse if someone's nearest supermarket is on the other side of a county boundary etc.

[quote Hoppyhops]@NotSuchASmugMarriedNow1 I’m in S Wales and I’m sure I saw this at my local retail park yesterday. Meant to ask about it then completely forgot! Did you see it happening and was it at CRP?[/quote]
If I'm thinking of the same place I noticed a cctv police van set up in the far end of the carpark, was wondering why it was there!