Professor Stuart Lister comments on practicalities of local lockdowns as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK
Professor Lister says "explaining to the public what scientific evidence local rules are based on will be key" if local lockdowns are implemented in response to localised covid-19 outbreaks.
“Under local lockdowns it seems very likely that people who live not very far from each other will end up receiving very different policing responses. So it will be important that those most affected understand the basis of those decisions, else they may feel they're being unreasonably or unfairly dealt with,” says Professor Lister, Professor of Policing and Criminal Justice in the School of Law.
The article explains that the UK’s lockdown approach has taken a different format to other countries in Europe, with the measures relying on the public’s willingness to comply with existing rules and recommendations rather than being strictly regimented.
Professor Lister explains that “if cities and towns start introducing their own rules, it might become more difficult for police to secure compliance among the public. The message may become blurred as to who can do what, but also some people may be less willing to comply with the law as they see those in other communities having more freedoms”.
