JUST 23 of the thousands of fines issued to people for breaching "lockdown" measures have been handed out in Dorset.

Enforcement action was taken more than 3,000 times between March 27 and April 13 in England, according to data collected by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

And of these, only 23 were issued by Dorset Police, a figure it said was a “vindication” of its commitment to engaging with people before taking stronger action.

Bournemouth Echo:

Figures released by the NPCC on Wednesday showed 3,203 fines were handed out across England for breaching measures brought in to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

It said this was less than 0.01 per cent of the eligible population with the “vast majority” of people complying with the restrictions.

Powers to issue £60 fines were given to police forces following the introduction of more stringent “lockdown” measures by the government on March 26.

Lancashire was the most common place for fines to be issued with almost 400 handed out over the 18-day period.

At the other end of the scale, only two were issued in Humberside.

In Hampshire more than 100 issued while the figure was just 23 in Dorset, a number which, the force’s deputy chief constable, David Lewis, said, reflected its commitment to use them as a last resort.

“This is a vindication of our approach where we’ve really wanted to engage with people and deal with them in a positive, professional way,” he said.

“In some cases a very tiny minority of people have been difficult and stubborn and aren’t prepared to co-operate and listen and there we’ve had to issue fines.”

The fines were given for those breaching restrictions, including congregating and being out of the home when they should not have been. Others were for people attempting to visit the county.

Falls in the number of people reporting crime and relatively low rates of absence amongst police staff, Mr Lewis added, had allowed it to step up efforts to enforce the measures.

Hundreds of cars were stopped by police over the Easter weekend although most were found to have been making essential trips.

“We’ve been able to devote quite a lot of our time to policing the lockdown, engaging with people and making sure they are safe,” he added. “We’ve policed beauty spots, the beaches and some arterial routes with real success.”

But he urged people to continue to stay at home and avoid unnecessary travel in order to save lives.

“If people are asking themselves whether a journey is essential, then it probably isn’t,” he said.