Shepparton police were out in force over the Easter long weekend, issuing eight infringement notices to people disregarding the restrictions put in place due to COVID-19.
Each of these eight people received fines of $1652, with four of these issued to people having a party at a caravan park, three to people found drunk in a public place and one to a person who was found in a public area without reasonable excuse.
While Shepparton's Local Area Commander Inspector Troy Hargadon acknowledged these eight people were "blatantly breaching" the restrictions put in place by the chief health officer, he also thanked the wider community who were abiding by the regulations.
“I'd like to thank the community — we understand it’s a difficult time and a challenging time, one which we will overcome if we continue to show the support and empathy to each other thus far,” he said.
“I suppose it reinforces that those who do not want to comply will be apprehended and where appropriate will be issued with relevant infringement notices.”
Police Operation Nexus also ran over the Easter long weekend, with Shepparton Highway Patrol members supported by a number of State Highway Patrol vehicles which were deployed to the town.
Across the four days Shepparton police detected 61 general traffic offences on local roads, which included four drivers being processed as potential drink drivers — a result Insp Hargadon said was disappointing.
“Given the current climate we have, coupled with the chief health officer restrictions in place, it's disappointing we have had such a response over the weekend,” he said.
“It appears we have a number of people, for whatever reason, choosing not to abide by these rules and unfortunately — or fortunately for others — they have been detected by the local police.”
Across the state Victoria Police detected a total of 8283 traffic and criminal offences over the Easter long weekend, which included 3610 speeding offences, 259 drug drivers and 124 drink drivers.
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