Claims Welsh police officers will be used as ‘factory inspectors’ denied by government minister

A Welsh Government minister has denied claims that police officers will effectively be used as ‘factory inspectors’ to enforce a new law to keep workers two metres apart.

Earlier today, North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones backed the four chief constables in Wales who are unanimously opposed to the idea.

Under the new legislation introduced by the Welsh Government on Tuesday, companies are being told to take “reasonable measures” to ensure the health of their workers.

Mr Jones, himself a former police inspector, said he fully supported the aim of the legislation but objected to the police being expected to enforce it.

However, Local Government Minister Julie James has now clarified that police will only be called in as “a very last resort”.

Speaking at a press conference held this afternoon, she said:“We’re not asking the police to be factory inspectors. Just to be clear, if you’re having a problem in your workplace, you think your employer is not taking reasonable measures to ensure that you can stay safe and stay distant from your fellow workers, then you need first to tell your employer that you think that’s a problem.

“Contact your trade union if you have a trade union, and I take this opportunity to say that people should have a trade union in these difficult times, to do just that.

“If that doesn’t work, and it will work in the vast majority of cases, then contacting your local authority Trading Standards department or raising it with your local assembly member will also do the trick.

“The police are obviously only a very last resort for recalcitrant employers really determined to break the rules. We do not expect to have any of those in Wales.”

The two-metre social distancing rule will apply to any workplace, including homes, where work and repairs are being undertaken and outdoor spaces.

The new rules apply to those workplaces not already covered by the original stay-at-home rules introduced almost two weeks ago

Employers will be breaking the law if do not make sure that staff are able to maintain the two-metre physical distancing rule

But the rules will not amount to a complete ban on workers being closer than the social distancing guidelines.

Commenting on the legislation, which gives the police and councils the power to enforce the rules with fines of between £60 and £120, Mr  Jones said: “It is like using police officers as factory inspectors when North Wales Police and the other Welsh forces have important work of their own to do during the coronavirus crisis.

“The Health and Safety Executive and local authorities should step up to the mark here and do their job – they should take responsibility for enforcement rather than expecting the police to do their job for them.

“The police have an important job to do during normal times but now, more than ever, they need to be able to concentrate on their own role.

“I am sure the public of North Wales would far rather that our police enforce essential travel legislation rather than have them visiting factories to ensure that employees are kept two metres apart which is surely what the Health and Safety Executive should be doing.

“The chief constables have urged the Welsh Government to change their guidelines as a matter of urgency and I am standing shoulder to shoulder with them on this”.