- The threshold for acting: will it be reasonable grounds to suspect?
- The areas covered by the ban – any public place?What about private places? Will there be a power of entry?
- The nature of the penalty: will it be a fine akin to a fixed penalty notice? If so, how will it be enforced? Will it be an offence to fail to give your name and address to an officer? What if the officer thinks the personal details given are untrue?
Legislation will clearly be necessary. Presumably in the short term, this will be in the form of regulations. The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 contains numerous, significant powers that could be used, such as the power under sections 19-23 to make emergency regulations that bypass the usual parliamentary procedures. These regulations include the power to create new summary offences, with a maximum sentence of a fine or three months' imprisonment. However, the Civil Contingencies Act has not yet been triggered. This is despite the definition of an emergency within section 19 of that Act, a "an event or situation which threatens serious damage to human welfare in the United Kingdom or in a Part or region" plainly being met.
It is unhelpful to speculate further as to the precise nature, basis or extent of the new powers. The police team at Serjeants' Inn will provide an update here as soon as it knows more.
For any members of the public reading this blog, please do not contact the police for further information, as they do not (as at the time of posting) have any more information than you do.