Question
The Chair of the Performance Committee wrote to ACC Todd on 18th January 2021 in relation to the Health Regulations and the power of PSNI officers to enter premises. Can the Chief Constable provide an update on the response to this correspondence?
Answer
The power available in practice for officers to enter private homes to enforce Health Protection Regulations is derived from Regulation 7(1) Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) Regulations (NI) 2020 (as amended). Regulation 7 states,
‘A relevant person may take such action as is necessary to establish whether a breach of these regulations has occurred or to enforce any requirement imposed by regulation 4 to 6C’.
The recently issued department of Health Guidance on the use of the power was welcome and has been incorporated into our own operational guidance.