Mid North Coast Police issue over 150 PINs, five people to appear in court for non-compliance of the COVID-19 Public Health Order

Operation Stay At Home commenced across NSW at 12.01am on Monday, August 16 .

Since that time, the Mid North Coast Police District have issued:

In addition to the PINs, five court attendance notices have also been issued along with 28 warnings and 11 young people have been dealt with under the Young Offenders Act.

Kempsey Officer in Charge, Inspector Martin Burke, said the majority of people across the Mid North Coast have been following the health orders.

"Compliance has been good across the region but unfortunately there are a select group of people who are doing the wrong thing which is disappointing," he said.

"We have issued over 150 PINs and there are a number of people appearing in court for disobeying the Public Health Order."

Officers have been conducting patrols of areas across the Mid North Coast where the public usually congregate such as beaches and parks, however it's calls coming in through Crime Stoppers that have aided police.

"A lot of information is being submitted through Crime Stoppers about people not following the lockdown rules and a high number of these calls have resulted in PINs being issued," Insp Burke said.

"The message to the community is to keep those calls coming in. They can be made anonymously through Crime Stoppers and will help police in their work to keep the community safe."

Insp Burke said although the Mid North Coast doesn't have the same volume of cases as other parts of the state, it's important for the community to remain vigilant and follow the Public Health Order.

"This is not the time for complacency. Police are working with the Mid North Coast Health District and the community to keep the impact of the Delta strain to a minimum in our region," he said.

"We urge people to get tested, get vaccinated and comply with the lockdown orders."

About 3pm on Wednesday, August 25, Laurieton Police stopped a vehicle on Ocean Drive, Laurieton, and subjected the driver to a roadside breath test which returned a positive result.

The driver, a 40-year-old Dunbogan man, was arrested and taken to Laurieton Police Station for the purpose of a breath analysis.

Police will allege the man returned a breath analysis in the middle range.

The man's driving license was also cancelled.

Police will further allege that on the previous day, the man was at a private barbeque in the Port Macquarie area.

The man was charged with Not comply with noticed direction re s 7/8/9 - COVID-19, Drive with middle range PCA and Drive while licence cancelled.

He was granted conditional bail to appear at Port Macquarie Local Court on September 29, 2021.

On Saturday, August 28, Kempsey Police received an anonymous complaint about a person who was in the Bellbrook community contrary to the current public health orders.

Following an investigation, Mid North Coast Police issued a 29-year-old Kempsey man with a $1000 Infringement Notice for Not comply with noticed direction re s 7/8/9 - COVID-19.

Anyone with information regarding non-compliance of the Public Health Order is urged to come forward to police and report to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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