Chief Constable Gary Roberts has responded to comments made by advocate Ian Kermode about the way the police enforced Covid-19 laws.

In last week’s Examiner, Mr Kermode said that the police had been heavy-handed.

He established that 71 people had been jailed during the pandemic for breaking Covid-19 laws.

He described it as ’one of the darkest and most unmerciful chapters in Manx policing.

This week Mr Roberts said: ’Unfortunately, I was not in a position to respond to the Examiner’s article about the enforcement of emergency legislation designed to stop the spread of Covid-19 and, in particular, to introduce some balance into the one-sided debate instigated by Ian Kermode.

’His needlessly emotive and sometimes incorrect rhetoric ignores many of the facts. I do not wish to enter a drawn out discussion with him and I respect his right to have an opinion.

’However, it is important that your readers are aware of more facts than his narrowly structured freedom of information request drew out.’

He outlined some background facts.

â?¢The Isle of Man Constabulary chose to adopt a model created by the National Police Chiefs Council, which made enforcement a final option.

â?¢This approach, known as the 4Es, began with engagement, went to an explanation of the law, then encouragement to comply and finally enforcement.

â?¢Use of this model meant that only 0.13% of the island’s population faced formal enforcement action.

Less than 1% of the population received a warning, which would have been precursor to action.

These figures are almost exactly the same as those reported by the National Police Chiefs Council in England and Wales, which offers a more accurate reflection of how our approach compared with that of United Kingdom colleagues than Mr Kermode’s opinion.

â?¢In almost every case, those against whom action was subsequently taken had received at least one warning. Some people received as many as five warnings.

â?¢In a quarter of cases, a breach of the Covid regulations was actually a secondary offence, with the alleged offender also being arrested for offences such as assault or burglary.

Mr Roberts said: ’These facts do not reflect Mr Kermode’s opinion that the constabulary was heavy-handed. Instead, our approach was careful, considered and balanced.

’There were checks and balances. Not everyone who was arrested was charged.

’Every charging decision was made by HM Attorney General and not by the police and the police do not have any role in sentencing.

’The first imprisonment actually took the constabulary by surprise and, had the courts felt that the approach of the constabulary was wrong, especially during the lengthy first lockdown, adverse comment would have been made and sentencing would have reflected this.

’The fact that this did not happen is important. I wonder why Mr Kermode, who is apparently an experienced advocate, did not know about these checks and balances and, if his reported comments are accurate, why he appears not to understand that courts sentence offenders as they deem appropriate.’

He added that it seemed as if Mr Kermode, a senior lawyer, was implicitly criticising the judiciary for their approach to sentencing.

’The mere fact that an offence is imprisonable does not force judges and magistrates to send offenders to prison,’ Mr Roberts said.

’It is always best for professionals in the criminal justice system not to share any opinions about what courts do. It is also important to recall that the emergency legislation, which created imprisonable offences, was approved by Tynwald.

’In other words, elected representatives made the law, which the police enforced.’

safeguards

He added that police arrests powers, as set out in the Police Powers and Procedures Act 1998, contain ’rigorous human rights safeguards’.

’This means that an arrest can only be lawful if it can be justified and if the arresting officer is able to satisfy a strict "necessity test", he said.

’These further checks and balance prevent police officers from acting in the very way that Mr Kermode alleges that they did.’

Mr Kermode’s points about fixed penalty notices, in which he draws comparisons with the United Kingdom, were a little confused, the Chief Constable added.

Fixed penalty notices only became available here on April 17, 2020, but a series of changes to the regulations made it difficult to use them at first.

However, whereas 54 arrests were made in the month of April when events were changing quickly and professionals and the public were learning about dealing with a pandemic, only 29 arrests were made in May, in part due to the availability of fixed penalty notices.

In the first 2021 lockdown period, for example, only three arrests were made.

’Context is important,’ the Chief Constable added. ’In the first lockdown the constabulary received more than 20 reports a day of possible breaches of the regulations.

’All bar a handful of those charged with Covid offences did not have previous convictions, but prosecuting advocates made a decision to prosecute based on the seriousness of the breach.’

He said that Mr Kermode’s reported comments about a radio interview ’scarcely deserve a response’.

’To suggest that I would disrespect vulnerable people or ride roughshod over mentally ill people is contrary to everything that I have done in my professional career.

’Mr Kermode would be well advised to read my annual report in order to see just how much I and my colleagues care deeply about doing the right things to protect the most vulnerable in our community.

’The report also contains a great deal of information about the policing of the pandemic.

’I am proud of the work that the constabulary has done since the pandemic began. We made the odd mistake, but everything we did was designed to help keep the people of the Isle of Man safe and well.’