Sussex residents praised as vast majority of fines are handed to people from outside county

Sussex’s Deputy Chief Constable has praised the vast majority of Sussex residents for complying with lockdown restrictions.
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DCC Jo Shiner said police were ‘really grateful’ to people in Sussex who have been following restrictions in place to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

She added: “I understand how difficult it must be – particularly for those families who may not have gardens, who may have young children.”

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DCC Shiner revealed that 348 fixed penalty notices have been issued for breaches of lockdown regulations in Sussex.

Sussex Police DCC JO SHINER SUS-200402-094559001Sussex Police DCC JO SHINER SUS-200402-094559001
Sussex Police DCC JO SHINER SUS-200402-094559001

But she said the vast majority of those were for people from outside the county who were travelling long distances for pleasure.

She added: “People coming from up north or from London because they wanted a breath of fresh sea air.”

She said there were several hotspots including Hove Lawns, the seafront and Devil’s Dyke.

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Across the population of Sussex the fixed penalty notices account for just one in every 4896 residents, according to DCC Shiner.

She said the police are using the ‘four Es’ in their approach – ‘engage, explain, encourage, enforce’.

She also praised special constables who have stepped up during lockdown.

DCC Shiner revealed they had so far contributed 310 shifts – equivalent to almost 3,500 hours work.

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She praised all policing staff, frontline workers, support staff and students.

DCC Shiner said despite having to learn remotely students have been wearing full uniform and are subject to online inspections, just as if they were training in person. She added: “I can’t tell you how proud I am of all of our work force.

She confirmed that as of April 30 just three per cent of the Sussex Police workforce was on sick leave.

Call rates to 999 and 101 have fallen compared to the same period in 2019, according to DCC Shiner.

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But she said online reports have tripled including a large number of reports of breaches of lockdown restrictions.

DCC Shiner said that domestic abuse ‘absolutely remains a priority’ for Sussex Police.

She added that the force has cars dedicated to domestic abuse reports and a specialist team who can arrange appointments for non-urgent cases.

Sussex Police is launching a domestic abuse awareness campaign in supermarkets, according to DCC Shiner.

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She said the force is also putting more patrols on the county’s roads.

DCC Shiner added: “It’s really important that we’re policing the roads.”

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