to think Derbyshire police need to read the LAW and understand that you can't fine people when they are not breaking it

[chomalungma]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-55560814

Surrounded by police, treated like a criminal for driving 5 miles to a beauty spot for a walk.

It is not illegal to drive to exercise.

No where is 5 miles mentioned. And you and I and everyone in the thread know that, and should also know it's not the salient issue.

This isn't a game of gotcha

It's the police having the discretion to decide what is reasonable in the local circumstances,

Well this thread is a great example of why the UK is in such a shit state.

Yeah, fuck the police, everyone can do as they want, fuck the guidelines, go drive to a beauty spot for a coffee..."

Fucks sake. You deserve the mess you've made for yourselves.

Why are people going off on a tangent with their opinions of what is acceptable or not, it's the actual laws which are being discussed not what MN thinks

@ComDummings sure you were

Completely agree. It's ridiculously heavy handed. These women posed absolutely no risk to the spread of covid. It's ludicrous.

No the police don't get to unilaterally make up their own rules at their own discretion.. they follow the law, as defined in legislation.

@atswim2birds

Well this thread is a great example of why the UK is in such a shit state.

Yeah, fuck the police, everyone can do as they want, fuck the guidelines, go drive to a beauty spot for a coffee..."

Fucks sake. You deserve the mess you've made for yourselves.

Exactly

If they were sitting in the car together it’s illegal. And I totally agree that driving several miles is not acceptable.

But it doesn't matter if it's acceptable to you, the chief constable of Derbyshire or the Queen. Its allowed in law so you cant fine people for it. Gahhhhh! What is so difficult to understand about this?

7 miles is not local fucks sake

Many police officers are knuckle-dragging thugs. There are a lot of brilliant, caring and committed officers also. But IME, too many are bullies who like to walk around in a military esque uniform throwing their weight around.
Can the people who are fined like this appeal?

chomalungma

Wales34
The rules state that exercise should begin and end at home , you aren't supposed to driven for exercise. I think given the serious situation in the hospitals I welcome the police doing this

Again - not the law.

It’s the law in Wales, the poster might not realise it’s different in England.

It's the police having the discretion to decide what is reasonable in the local circumstances

No, they don't. Police in this country are supposed to police by consent. They most certainly are only allowed to enforce the law, they have no powers to invent laws they think should be in place.

Its allowed in law so you cant fine people for it. Gahhhhh! What is so difficult to understand about this?

You'd think it would be bloody easy to understand.

No matter what anyone's opinions are the fact is you cannot be fined if you haven't broken the law. These women have not broken the law and therefore should not have been fined!

@atswim2birds this isn't about driving to a beauty spot. They've not travelled an hour to view the hills or the beach etc. This is about Derbyshire police making up their own rules and stopping people walking in their local (yes, local!) parks. For example, I have followed all rules, to the letter but Derby police have told me I cannot drive 2.6 miles (6 minutes!) to the country park to walk for a few hours.

Meanwhile... herds of teens in our local Home Bargains. No masks. Just arsing about.

I just left. Sick of it.

Frankly, I went for a walk (alone) to a natural reserve yesterday. It was full of people sitting or walking side by side with a coffee on hand.

No social distancing, and more crowded than usual. There were also human faces by the trees.

I am totally convinced these 2 women would have been walking side by side and sitting closely without masks if the police had not been around.

That’s what everyone seems to be doing to kill the time these days.

Having just had my letter to prove I am a critical worker, not something I needed in previous lockdowns, I suspect that the police are going to a bit more active with people driving unnecessarily.
It may be legal to drive somewhere for a walk but is is sensibly or necessary. I’d be pretty pissed off if I was a paramedic or mountain rescue called out to someone who had driven somewhere to walk their dog and had an accident. Especially if it delays their attendance to the next call where they find a deceased patient who may have had a chance if they had arrived 10mins earlier.
I have no problem with the police throwing their weight around if it stops unnecessary deaths (any death not just Covid).

This is really scary.

Sadly my experience of police (and I have always been on the right side of the law) is that too many are jumped up power mad nobodies who couldn't give a rat's arse about a battered woman but are happy to bully random people so they bolster their arrest record.

@BonnieDundee

So next time someone is standing on the parapet of a bridge, the police shouldn't bother attending, because they may not be attempting suicide, which is a crime in English law, but rather just enjoying the view?

I'm not sure tombstoning is illegal, but the police will still intervene if they see it.

The role of the police isn't just to uphold the law, but protect life and property. It isn't that hard to understand really.

@RoseAndRose

The police only have the power to fine people for breaking the law if in fact they have broken the law. There is no limit on distance to travel or time limit in the legislation so they cannot fine people for something which is not included in the law.

They can have a stern word and offer advice, but a fixed penalty notice is an abuse of power and illegal action by the police.

@iamruth

Seriously, it’s not difficult to just stick to the rules. Is it Essential to drive to walk in that specific place? Do their legs not work out of their front doors? Exactly. Compo faces right there. Give the police/nhs/teachers a break and worry about yourself

They did stick to the rules

Only leaving your home for essential purposes is law

Yes, but that law also makes it clear that it is legal to go out to exercise, meet one other person, buy food, seek medical attention and several other reasons.

Of course, most people could cope quite well never leaving the house at all. We don't need to go for a walk, it's just a nice thing to do. No-one's going to die within the next few weeks if they don't go for a walk. Do you really want to be in a situation where you cannot actually leave your house at all?

Similarly, many people will have food of some sort in the house, even if it's not what they;d choose to eat right now. No-one expected to be down to the last out of date can of soup and unidentifiable tub of brown in the freezer before they go out for more food, so its clear that the term 'essential' is subjective and it seems that there's only the Derbyshire Police force who think these women did anything wrong, or else we wouldn't have the CC of another police force stating on local radio that he was happy for people to drive 10 miles to the beach.

Faeces not faces, but yes lots of poo at the base of the trees. Lovely!

Yes, but that law also makes it clear that it is legal to go out to exercise, meet one other person, buy food, seek medical attention and several other reasons

Exercise yes. Just to meet someone for a chat, no.

Just like last time, those who joined the police to tell other people what to do are having a field day.