Harsh fines and policing don’t protect people from COVID-19, criminologists say
Experts in criminology and law are pushing back against the conventional wisdom that giving police the power to levy heavy fines will make people safer.
They argue public health directives are unclear, and the way they are being enforced is counterproductive and a distraction from the failure of the state to better prepare for COVID-19. Moreover, they say, the heavy fines disproportionately affect people of limited means, people of colour and marginalized communities..