UK Police Force Threatens to Search Shopping Baskets to Catch ‘Lockdown’ Violators
Forced to backtrack after public backlash.
A police force in the UK threatened to start searching people’s shopping baskets in order to catch coronavirus lockdown violators, but later had to backtrack following a public backlash.
Northamptonshire Police chief constable Nick Adderley prompted outrage after he appeared in a video to warn people who were buying unessential items at grocery stores that their purchases may be scrutinized by the authorities.
“We will not at this stage be starting to marshal supermarkets and checking the items in baskets and trolleys to see whether it’s a legitimate, necessary item but again be under no illusion, if people do not heed the warnings and the pleas that I’m making today, we will start to do that,” said Adderley.
Northamptonshire Police is among the worst performers in the country for bringing charges after cases of burglary. But its chief constable will damn well rummage through your shopping basket and find that incriminating can of air freshener if he wishes.
Adderley also said police checkpoints would be set up if people didn’t properly adhere to quarantine rules, warning that a “three-week grace period” in his county was over.
“If things don’t improve, and we don’t get the compliance we would expect, then the next stage will be road blocks and it will be stopping people to ask why they are going, where they’re going,” he said.
The police force later had to backtrack from Adderley’s comments, tweeting, “To clarify some suggestions made in the media, we absolutely will NOT be searching people’s shopping trolleys in Northamptonshire.”
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