Police target out-of-towners heading for regional NSW
Tough control measures are in force in NSW to deter Easter travellers, with the Police Commissioner saying communities are backing the measures, flooding Crimestoppers to report people flouting COVID-19 laws.
NSW
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Double demerits and traffic enforcement will continue this weekend as NSW Police beef-up efforts to target and turn back wannabe-holiday-makers in regional and coastal areas.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said police will be watching the north coast very carefully over coming days, particularly the border towns.
Tougher control measures will be in force at the state’s border with QLD from midnight Friday and even Queenslanders returning to the state will require a pass and exemptions to strict coronavirus regulations to get home.
Police say they are making themselves more visible and are monitoring traffic flow throughout the state to clamp down on people who ignore directions to stay home over Easter.
Additional police would be operating on the NSW north coast to turn back travellers, he said.
It comes as NSW Police revealed they have fielded about 5000 calls to Crime Stoppers in relation to people breaching COVID-19 measures since March 17.
“This is coming from communities themselves,” Commissioner Fuller said.
“Up to date we have 5000 Crime Stoppers reports in relation to people flouting the laws. “From my perspective, that means the communities are well behind us on this journey.”
On Friday, officers began visiting camping and caravan parks to ensure those staying there had an acceptable reason. That includes people doing essential work in the area, or whose primary places of residence are temporarily unavailable.
But after yesterday’s grace period of warnings, police will begin issuing tickets today.
“Be clear — we’ll reach a point when the warnings will be over. We’ll protect our border towns and we’ll protect our coastal areas during this busy period,” Commissioner Fuller said.
Fines were issued again overnight — 24 for non-isolation issues, and many of those were tagged with other criminal behaviours.
Over the long weekend, he reminded the public police will be patrolling country roads, backstreets and highways targeting holiday-makers.
Regional and rural MPs and mayors have been pleading to people in metropolitan areas to stay away to restrict the spread of COVID-19 in areas where health resources are stretched.
Under the current public health orders, people who travel to regional NSW to visit family or friends could face on-the-spot fines of $1000 up to $11,000, or imprisonment for 6 months, or both and a further $5500 penalty may apply for each day the offence continues.