Greater Manchester Police broke up a child’s birthday party

[Redolent]

They’ve been busy recently...

#UPDATE | Officers attended a property in #Swinton where 3 families were celebrating a child's birthday in a private garden. The homeowner has been issued with a fixed penalty notice.

——

The rest of their Twitter exploits:

mobile.twitter.com/gmpolice

Draconian or justified?

There may be 30 children in primary ones but add in siblings, hobbies, play dates out of school, parents socialising, teachers going between bubbles and it’s a huge amount of contacts.

The initial idea for full return was class bubbles of 30ish - often state junior classes are over 30.

Secondaries always said year groups.

Many primaries simply can't make class bubbles work and still manage playtimes, lunchtimes, toilet use, etc.

We are fortunate that we have the staffing to manage two adults per class. Many can't. Once you don't have two per class you have to mix bubbles in terms of staffing to allow for the teacher to have their own lunch and toilet breaks.

As said - bubbles at school don't mean anything at all in reality.

We are primary so there is no SDing within the bubbles, no masks, nothing - and the government has also said that all pupils are supposed to face the front, and therefore the teacher. The front row at the very list will normally be within a metre of the teacher.

It's complete bollocks and I cannot stand the fact most of the population is happy to inflict deep psychological harm on young children, and lose all their rights and freedoms, for the sake of a 0.5% death rate.

Tootletum
I take it the 0.5% don’t include your family/friends.
Lucky you.

The lack of SD and lack of following guidance has been happening throughout Covid, the "special" people assume they're exempt and clearly don't care if they catch it and pass it on to those around them!

Indeed, the libertarians who were so vehemently against lockdown were a key reason why lockdown was needed! Yet they are blind to the fact they were authors (in part at least) of their own misfortune!

deep psychological harm on young children

WTH?

My mother had 140 pound stolen from her purse in an area with CCTV. All we got was a text with a crime number. No investigation into the footage, no officers sent out, nothing. My mother is in her 70s, it was her pension. My neighbour had her car windows smashed. She was asked if she had it on CCTV they said no and so the police said there's nothing we can do. I watched as a van stole all the metal grids in our street (they also took the surrounding streets grids too) the police said it was a council matter not a police matter. They wouldn't come out even while it was happening (slowly because them grids are heavy) If GM police did some proper police work instead of going for easy targets maybe people wouldn't be so pissed off.

"The lack of raves, the lack of half a million people descending on a beach, the lack of football fans celebrating in their thousands outside stadiums, the lack of marches and riots for weeks on end with no social distancing."

These things got people in UK so mad with others and yet there was absolutely no increase anywhere following those events, the rates continued to reduce. So who was wrong?

Having willingly followed all COvid-related rules to date, I'm struggling to have respect for these particular GM rules and their enforcement. I can't visit family (all of us very low risk as we don't really mix with others beyond for any period of time), and yet also can have no faith that this will end soon as enforcement is so patchy and half-hearted. My young neighbours have had numerous friends staying overnight all the way through this crisis - nothing has put a dent in their busy social lives. Yet action is taken against small family gatherings. As others have said, the police are going for soft targets and it's shameful.

I might be one of the posters applauding this if enforcement was equally applied, proportionate and prioritised major breaches. It isn't and it doesn't.

@FinnyStory

"The lack of raves, the lack of half a million people descending on a beach, the lack of football fans celebrating in their thousands outside stadiums, the lack of marches and riots for weeks on end with no social distancing."

These things got people in UK so mad with others and yet there was absolutely no increase anywhere following those events, the rates continued to reduce. So who was wrong?

Exactly

The rates have gone up in certain areas because certain groups are more likely to catch it and not be asymptomatic. Right after certain groups important dates in the calendar.
Also, the beaches and football celebrations were outdoors so less likely to cause a spike. It's well known it spreads quicker indoors.
As for the BLM marches, all the ones I saw online and continue to see in the US mainly, 99% of those there are wearing masks.

The police need to answer why they've racially profiled people flouting rules and let certain people do as they please. There's even a photo of two police officers in a group shot with 200 at a wedding. It's blatant now.

@LadyofTheManners Spot on.

The police need to answer why they've racially profiled people flouting rules and let certain people do as they please

Not sure what this means or who it's referring to?
Who have they racially profiled and who are they letting do as they please?

The police need to answer why they've racially profiled people flouting rules and let certain people do as they please

What evidence is there for this?

@Dohorseseatapples

The police need to answer why they've racially profiled people flouting rules and let certain people do as they please

What evidence is there for this?

Plenty of evidence but you dare not say more than certain people or you get bitched on here.

From the Independent on (I think) this case.

^"We're trying to take a very balanced and proportionate view, so throughout this pandemic, we've issued very few fixed penalty notices across Greater Manchester. One to every 10,000 citizens at one point. Even this weekend we've only issued 19."
Mr Hopkins' comments came amid criticism of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) for issuing fines to three families who were socialising in a garden for a child's birthday.
"The party we're talking about - and obviously I've seen some of the criticism around that - it was gone eight o'clock in the evening, it was reported to us by members of the public and it was mostly adults who were enjoying the party. It wasn't jelly and ice cream with a bunch of three- and four-year-olds sat around in the middle of the afternoon," he said.
"To contrast that, which isn't being reported because it's not been in the public domain, we were called to a child's birthday party and when my officers got there, they realised that it was a party for a child that's terminally ill. So it was very much discretion, a quiet word, and we went on our way.^

Plenty of evidence but you dare not say more than certain people or you get bitched on here.

If there is evidence link it.

These idiotic people are the reasons there are going to be local lockdowns all year. Yes they need to make an example!

@Lelophants

These idiotic people are the reasons there are going to be local lockdowns all year. Yes they need to make an example!

No they're not. Come on. How much risk did they really pose outside in a garden?

They need to be shutting down ACTUAL risks. This wasn't one.

"No they're not. Come on. How much risk did they really pose outside in a garden?"

Well track and trace suggests that household garden parties are a source of infection. As tbe police pointed out this was adults past 8pm not kids eating jelly and ice cream. Do you think people who ignore guidelines about gathering will respect the sd ones? The fact that most of greater Manchester is still locked down says otherwise...

Whilst not in full lockdown in sheffield, police allowed a 300 strong funeral to go ahead, because they were scared to intervene because it was travellers.

Police have been undermanned for years. No one cared as long as taxes stay low. Unless they can magically bus in officers from other areas during the funeral they can't do shit about large groups. They have already had officers injured by missiles breaking up house parties.

The only way they can realistically stop large gathering like this is with the army and no one will accept that.

@walksen

"No they're not. Come on. How much risk did they really pose outside in a garden?"

Well track and trace suggests that household garden parties are a source of infection. As tbe police pointed out this was adults past 8pm not kids eating jelly and ice cream. Do you think people who ignore guidelines about gathering will respect the sd ones? The fact that most of greater Manchester is still locked down says otherwise...

Well looking at the beaches etc do I think it's a massive risk? No. I do not.

Again Test and trace data disagrees with you.