To Serve and Protect … Who? By Bruce Bennett (Sydney Penal Colony)
So, the massive NSW Police enforcement effort has resulted in nearly 22,000 fines for breaches of the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, with $3.5 million in COVID-19 fines, with $25 million outstanding but not yet due and $3.4 million overdue. This is more than double the number of fines in three and a half weeks as the entire 17 months of the pandemic before that. Does that seem right to you?
How exactly did this stop the spread of the new Black Death?
“The massive NSW Police enforcement effort that kicked off on August 16 has resulted in nearly 22,000 fines for breaches of the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.
Since the start of the pandemic, the people of NSW have paid $3.5 million in COVID-19 fines, while there is nearly $25 million outstanding but not yet due and $3.4 million overdue.
Operation Stay at Home marked a dramatic ramp-up in the police response, with NSW Police issuing more than double the number of fines in three and a half weeks as the entire 17 months of the pandemic before that.
Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said when announcing the operation it would take seven to 14 days to see the results, and he wouldn’t act against police officers for wrongly issuing fines.
Since then, COVID-19 daily case numbers have continued to rise, but the transmission rate is stable or slowing, which epidemiologists say is mainly because of vaccination. Community law advocates say many fines were wrongly issued and should be revoked.
Commissioner Fuller told The Sun-Herald the enforcement blitz had helped stem the pandemic.
“Since that operation commenced there has been no expansion in the number of metropolitan LGAs of concern,” Commissioner Fuller said.
“The compliance operation has been a major driver in setting us on a path out of lockdown and it’s clear that without driving the restriction of movement, thousands more people would have become positive cases.”
Under Operation Stay at Home, the value of the on-the-spot penalties increased from a maximum of $1000 to a maximum of $5000.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the police were essential to defeating COVID-19 as part of a whole-of-government approach and also played a role as community helpers looking after the welfare of individuals who are isolating at home, even delivering food packages in some parts of the state.
“At other times, when there is deliberate and persistent non-compliance the police have a job to do, which is to enforce the health orders,” Mr Hazzard said.
“My assessment is that the police have been absolutely invaluable and any criticism directed to them in the broadest sense is most likely to have come from those who have not seen the on-the-ground work done by them.”
The alternative view is that police state has been created, a view one finds in overseas media critical of Australia’s Covid response.
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