Law and religion round-up – 25th April

A week in which we had a few comments asking about GRO materials for the new marriage registration system in England & Wales – to which the answer is, we don’t know: this is a blog, not an official channel of communication.

COVID-19: policing during lockdown

On Tuesday, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services for England & Wales published Policing in the pandemic – The police response to the coronavirus pandemic during 2020 between March and November. While the report concludes that “overall the police reacted well to the difficult circumstances presented by the pandemic”, it is critical of the uncertainties against which the police were required to operate:

“For the first time, even in wartime, the public were confined to their homes, and a person was only allowed out if they had a reasonable excuse. The first regulations contained a non-exhaustive list of 13 reasonable excuses, including obtaining basic necessities such as food and medical supplies, taking exercise, travelling to and from work and escaping violence or other harm. The principle was ‘reasonable excuse’, but unfortunately that was not widely understood. Continue reading