Telford takes brunt of Covid-19 fines
More lockdown fines have been issued in Telford & Wrekin than in the rest of Shropshire put together.
New figures for September to January reveal 221 fines were issued in the Telford borough region – but only 93 in the area covered by Shropshire Council.
The figures were revealed at the West Mercia police and crime panel when it was confirmed officers had issued fewer fines in Shropshire than in any of the five regions the force covers.
Herefordshire had received the most, with Telford & Wrekin was second. Shropshire also came bottom in the rate of fines issued per head of population.
The figures were questioned by panel member Roger Evans, who asked whether this meant Salopians were “particularly law-abiding”.
The new figures also appear to see a falling away of fines in Shropshire compared to the period over last summer.
But Chief Constable Anthony Bangham said the force had had “a good look” to say why the trend had changed but said there was “no single answer”. He said other areas had also seen fluctuations in figures. and that enforcement strategy is reviewed on a weekly basis.
A report considered by the panel said the quantity of fines was consistent with population size.
Fines issued include a wedding venue at Stafford Park with a £10,000 penalty for hosting a party for 120 people in September. A pub in Telford was also hit with a £10,000 fine in December after allowing households to mix at the venue, while the organisers of an event for 50 people at an industrial unit in the town also received a £10,000 fine.
Recent figures from the National Police Chiefs Council show West Mercia Police had issued 999 fines so far – with the highest number of the penalties of any force for face mask offences, with 214.
The crime panel, which consists of councillors and lay members from across West Mercia, was discussing the force’s latest quarterly report.
Consistent
It said: “Herefordshire and Telford and Wrekin have issued the greatest raw numbers of fixed penalty notices within West Mercia, as well as the highest rates of FPNs per 100,000 people.
“Shropshire has issued the lowest numbers of FPNs out of the LPAs [local policing areas]. Again, this remains consistent after controlling for population size.”
A graph in the report, which shows the number of FPNs issued between September 24 and January 7, showed Shropshire had the lowest number of tickets since October, while Herefordshire overtook Telford and Wrekin to claim the highest tally the following month.
Shropshire Councillor Councillor Evans, who represents Longden on Shropshire Council, asked the police panel: “I see Shropshire was around everybody else during the summer and then, as the second lockdown came and everything else, Shropshire was way down compared with others.
"Is there any reason for this – or are we particularly law-abiding in Shropshire?”
Chief Constable Bangham said the force had “had a good look at this to see why” internally as well.
“We’ve asked the same questions and it isn’t just Shropshire.”; at various times we’ve seen different approaches in North Worcestershire and Herefordshire, and we’ve continued to ask the questions of the local commanders to try and understand what is going on,” he said.
“Is there a particular issue that has caused a high or low number? There is no single answer.”
But he reassured Councillor Evans that “all of our decisions have been made in partnership with local authorities, in particular” and took into account health data and the force’s borders, particularly with West Midlands Police and Dyfed-Powys Police.
“We do have a particular group, chaired by the Deputy Chief Constable, who looks at this every week. But it’s not an exact science and we continue to monitor it.”
