'Highly visible' police patrols to deter breaking travel ban

Police Scotland have said “highly visible patrols” will be put in place at the Scottish border in a bid to stop people breaking a travel ban over the festive period.

On Saturday, Nicola Sturgeon announced that the majority of Scotland would be placed into a full lockdown on Boxing Day amid fears a new variant strain is accelerating the spread of coronavirus.

A strict travel ban has been put in place over the holidays, with cross-border travel between Scotland and the rest of the UK not permitted as the relaxation of coronavirus rules were scaled back to Christmas Day only.

In a statement, Police Scotland Chief Constable Iain Livingstone said “highly visible patrols” on roads will be used to “deter anyone who might be considering breaching the coronavirus travel restrictions”.

He said: “I remain clear I do not consider it appropriate or proportionate for officers to establish checkpoints or roadblocks to simply enforce travel restrictions.

“These restrictions are a preventative measure to halt the progress of Covid, and Police Scotland will support this approach with a strong operational profile to deter those who would put others at risk.

“Today, I have authorised the doubling of our operational presence in the Border areas of Scotland.

“These highly visible patrols will be proactively deployed on our road networks to continue our operational activity to ensure drivers and vehicles are in a fit condition to drive.

“The patrols will also deter anyone who might be considering breaching the coronavirus travel restrictions.”

He added that “where officers encounter wilful, persistent or flagrant breaches we will act decisively to enforce the law”.