A police chief has warned that after a weekend of illegal gatherings in the West Midlands, people are acting like “the virus isn’t out there” as Birmingham approaches a local lockdown.
Waheed Saleem, the Assistant Police and Detective Superintendent for the West Midlands, welcomed new police powers which include fines of up to £ 10,000 for organizers of illegal raves as of Friday.
Police forces across the country are grappling with an increase in unlicensed music venues as the weather improves. The increased fine will go into effect before the August bank holiday weekend, when senior officials anticipate many illegal gatherings.
Saleem said he accompanied officials who broke up illegal gatherings over the weekend, including raves, wakes and weddings.
Birmingham police broke up 70 such gatherings over the weekend, just hours after new voluntary restrictions were put in place to prevent a local lockdown in Britain’s second largest city.
Saleem told BBC Breakfast, “I think people think the virus is not out there or it won’t affect them and they can continue to enjoy themselves in these gatherings, which is actually not the case because these gatherings are not just hotbeds are for the virus, but also breeding grounds for crime.
“I welcome the increase in fines because I’ve been asking for it over the past few weeks because the number of these events in our patch has grown steadily.
“Although we could have dealt with these fines much sooner, I think these fines will put off the people who gather and organize these illegal gatherings.
“We always try to engage, encourage and explain people to them before we go to enforcement and so the majority of the public is listening, but there is a minority who don’t and a lot of people have been very upset too about our coming to them break up these street parties. “
The UK’s second largest city was placed on the government’s “watch list” on Friday, with cases rising, prompting the council to propose a series of voluntary measures that limit public gatherings to 30 people, excluding common prayer and invitation to drivers and Passengers in taxis include wearing face covers.
There will also be a pause when areas of Birmingham’s business open up that remain closed, such as nightclubs and conference centers.
Cases of Covid-19 are increasing in the city, with 30.2 cases per 100,000 and a percentage of people who test positive up to 4.3%. More than half of the cases in the last week were in the 18- to 34-year-old age group.
Under the new anti-rave rules, anyone attending an illegal gathering of 30 or more people will be fined £ 100. Those who have already been fined will see double the amount of any crime, up to a maximum of £ 3,200, while organizers face a larger fine of up to £ 10,000.
City police said they had responded to more than 1,000 illegal incidents in the capital since late June, including 200 in a single weekend.