POLICE Scotland have issued just 25 fixed-penalty notices to people who have flouted the new emergency coronavirus rules.

The relatively low number of on-the-spot fines for the first weekend of the lockdown was welcomed by the First Minister, who said it showed that the public were “by their own volition, doing the right thing”.

Deputy Chief Constable Malcolm Graham told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland that there were “broadly three situations” where the force had to issue the punishments.

He said: “We had a number of house parties still going on; we were called to attend, and people refused to break those up, then notices could be issued.

“We had groups of people outside and again, if people have refused to comply, that was some of the circumstances, and in a very small number of cases we issued fixed penalty notices to businesses that were still operating where it was not appropriate that they should continue to given the regulations that are in place.”

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Speaking at her daily press briefing, Nicola Sturgeon said she hoped that officers wouldn’t need to issue too many fines.

“I have always said, and I hope it will be the case, and I think that the figures for the weekend bear this out – the police will not be required to use these enforcement powers, very much at all because people are by their own volition, doing the right thing,” she said.

However, North Lanarkshire council has been forced to close the gates to Strathclyde Park after hundreds of people turned up to the popular beauty spot over the weekend. Footage shared widely on social media showed the road into the park mobbed with cars.

Government guidance on social distancing asks people to only leave their home for one shopping trip a day and one bout of daily exercise.

While social distancing rules don’t forbid driving to a park to take that one bout of exercise, Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer has cautioned against it, warning that the practice can lead to crowds inadvertently forming in well-known spots.

A post on the North Lanakrshire Council’s social media pages said: “We had already closed car parks, but we’ll be ensuring vehicles can’t access the park like this again, working with @policescotland.

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“Please be responsible. Driving to the park to exercise is against govt guidance and not responsible. #stayhome.”

Meanwhile, reports suggest Police Scotland’s officer numbers were down by 16% on Friday, after thousands of officers were stuck at home self-isolating with suspected Covid-19 symptoms.

The Daily Record reported that of the 2700 constables on sick leave, only two had, so far, tested positive for the virus.

The paper’s source said: “This is a massive struggle but the feeling is that we are coping well with the help of the general public.

“The vast majority of people have responded very well to what is being asked of them.

“Another bonus is that crime is down – including domestic violence, which had been a concern. How do you keep a woman safe while isolated in her home with a violent partner?

“Fortunately, we haven’t seen any spike in that regard.”

Meanwhile, the chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission has expressed concerns about the emergency powers due to be debated and voted on in Holyrood tomorrow.

Judith Robertson warned that measures in the bill “may be necessary at this moment in time, many of them have substantial human rights implications and must therefore be subject to regular review”.

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