A report has highlighted the negatives of policing the COVID-19 pandemic through the overuse of fines during the strictest lockdown period in the most populous state in Australia.
Led by researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the report (pdf) concludes that in New South Wales in 2021, the large ‘on-the-spot’ fines used to punish noncompliance with public health measures was “regrettable, and should be avoided in the future.”
“Individuals were effectively criminalised for behaviours that would never previously have brought them into contact with the police or state-sanctioned punishment,” lead author and UNSW Law & Justice’s Prof. Luke McNamara said….