Liberty: Covid enforcement officers an insult to people trying to do the right thing

Liberty has responded to news councils have started hiring COVID enforcement officers to ensure people comply with coronavirus rules.

Rosalind Comyn, Liberty police and campaigns manager, said:

“People overwhelmingly want to do what is right and protect one another. The Government and local authorities should be working to help them do that by clearing up the confusion around what is and isn’t legal and supporting them to comply – not snooping on them as they live their daily lives.

“Ramping up heavy-handed enforcement of rules will do more harm than good – not least because the Government has failed to address the uneven, racialised enforcement of lockdown powers so far. This is exacerbated by the fact the rules are changing at breakneck pace and, by the Government’s own admission, have been incredibly confusing.

“Hiring undercover officers to spy on people is an insult to the efforts communities across the country have made to look after and protect each other during the pandemic.”