Officers make 9 arrests after anti-lockdown protest

Officers have arrested 9 people and issued seven fines following a large unauthorised gathering in Basildon which breached the Government’s COVID-19 regulations.

Attempts to engage with people at the gathering and encourage them to do the right thing were unsuccessful.

This meant the police had to take enforcement action and, so far, 9 people have been arrested and seven fines have been issued.

Fortunately no-one was seriously injured although some officers have reported being assaulted.

Superintendent Bonnie Moore said:

“This was a clear and blatant breach of the Government’s COVID-19 regulations and those who took part have risked their health and those of their loved ones through he spread of the virus.

“Our approach to the Government’s regulations has always been to try to engage with people, explain the regulations, and encourage them to do the right thing.

“Sadly, today that was not successful and we had to take enforcement action.

“A number of our officers involved today also reported being injured but, thankfully, their injuries are relatively minor.

“I know these are challenging times for everyone but we all have a responsibility to help keep each other safe.

“Having to deal with clear and blatant breaches of the regulations means having to take our officers away from dealing with other incidents and affects our ability to respond to other forms of crime.

“Most people across Essex are doing that and I thank you for it. It means we can spend more time doing what we do best – helping people, keeping people safe, and catching criminals.”