COVID Fines ‘Did More Harm Than Good’: Report

COVID Fines ‘Did More Harm Than Good’: Report
N.S.W Police patrol Sydney Park in Sydney, Australia, on Sept. 18, 2021. Brendon Thorne/Getty Images
Jessie Zhang
Updated:

A report has highlighted the negatives of policing the COVID-19 pandemic through the overuse of fines during the strictest lockdown period in the most populous state in Australia.

Led by researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), the report (pdf) concludes that in New South Wales in 2021, the large ‘on-the-spot’ fines used to punish noncompliance with public health measures was “regrettable, and should be avoided in the future.”
Jessie Zhang
Jessie Zhang
Author
Jessie Zhang is a reporter based in Sydney, Australia, covering news on health and science.
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