On Wednesday the Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford imposed a border style travel ban preventing people from high risk coronavirus hotspot areas entering Wales.
However, a Welsh police chief has said that Drakeford’s travel ban is “unenforceable” due to the “difficulty of identifying where people are coming from.”
The restrictions start from 6pm on Friday, which includes people travelling from Scotland, Northern Ireland and England.
Mark Bleasdale, Welsh lead for the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), said Drakeford’s plan as “unenforceable because of the difficulty of identifying where people are coming from and where they are going to.”
He said, “There will also be plenty of individuals travelling legitimately from areas which are not high risk, and this will only add to the other difficulties officers face when policing the existing regulations.
“Some areas of Wales are already in lockdown, and many individuals are already unable to travel in and out of counties unless they have good reason.
“In other locations, provisions are more relaxed, so this proposed travel ban adds yet another level of complexity to policing.”
The police chief added that police forces in Wales are already ‘overstretched’ due to the pandemic.
He said, “We would ask members of the public to continue to be supportive and realise this is an extremely challenging period for frontline officers.
“My colleagues will continue to do their utmost to protect the public in their usual professional manner.”
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