Police fine 32 Essex students for breaching Covid rules
Police officers in Colchester issued 32 fines to University of Essex students caught breaking coronavirus rules this weekend.
Officers in Colchester teamed up with the university to target those persistently found breaking coronavirus rules.
The university has put a series of measures in place to ensure students are following the guidelines and doing their bit to stop the spread of the virus and keep each other safe.
Essex Police say their partnership work with the university has meant the majority of students have listened and are following the rules.
But after a small number continued to break guidelines, officers stepped up patrols on campus and in the surrounding areas this weekend.
On Friday night, officers issued a group of seven people congregating in a car park at the university with £200 fixed penalty notices each.
On Saturday evening, officers were called to two house parties in Albany Road, both of which had eight people inside, and all of whom were issued with fines.
During a foot patrol the same night, officers came across nine students from different accommodation who were in a courtyard - all were fined.
Chief Inspector Rob Huddleston, who's the District Commander for Colchester, said: "We have worked really closely with the University of Essex to support them in explaining the current restrictions to their students around the rule of six.
"Our approach is always to explain and engage with people first around the current Covid-19 regulations, as we want to give people the benefit of the doubt and the opportunity to do the right thing and stop the spread of the virus.
"However, as we have always said, where people repeatedly flout the rules, we will take enforcement action. Sadly, this turned out to be the case over the weekend where, during our patrols, we found groups meeting up, and in two cases having house parties.
"We don't want to ruin anyone's fun, but we all have a legal and ethical responsibility to stop the spread of the virus, protect each other, our communities, and the NHS.
"In cases where people do not listen to us and selfishly flout the rules repeatedly, they can expect that we will deal with them by taking enforcement action.
"Ultimately we all want the same thing - to stop the spread of the coronavirus and to see police officers doing what they do best, protecting victims and the vulnerable and catching criminals, so please help us do that by following the rules."
Vanessa Potter, who's Director of External Relations at the University of Essex, said: "The University is committed to the health and wellbeing of our students and the wider community.
"At this challening time, we have made clear that all students must comply with Covid regulations, and we are really proud that almost all are taking this seriously and doing so.
"We we made aware of a few who were not, as so we asked the police to support us in managing these cases.
"This is not about stopping people having fun, it is about protecting the wider student population, our staff and the local community. We continue to work in partnership with our students and Essex Police to ensure we keep everyone safe."
Fixed penalty notices of £200 can be issued to those taking part in gatherings of more than six people, that will reduce to £100 if paid within 28 days. For persistent offenders the fixed penalty amount doubles for each subesequent offence. Those caught organising an unlawful gathering can face a fine of £10,000.