POLICE officers will “use their discretion” to decide how to deal with people who are flouting Government orders to stay home where possible, a police chief has said.

This follows an announcement from Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday saying police will be given additional powers to combat the spread of coronavirus.

He said forces across the country would be able to disperse gatherings of more than two people, giving fines to those not adhering to the Government’s self-explanatory “stay at home” slogan.

Sussex Police Chief Constable Giles York said he had not yet seen the exact powers officers would be granted, but action in the county could go beyond fines.

He told The Argus: “As and when these new powers come in, we will use them the same way we have used other new powers.

“They are called discretionary powers, so it is down to the discretion of the officer how they use them.

“Every single time we deal with one of these incidents we will engage with the public.

“Only if all else fails, then we will use these new powers.

“It does depend on what powers are given.”

But he said existing laws could be used if people continued to refuses to follow orders.

“If somebody doesn’t comply with it, this might be covered in the existing powers,” he said.

“Even down to breaching the peace.”

Police can arrest individuals if a person is committing a breach of the peace, though it is not a criminal offence.

He said road checkpoints could soon be set up in Sussex, similar to those seen in North Yorkshire.

These would aim to check if drivers’ journeys were essential by questioning drivers on the reason for their trip.

Yesterday, Brighton and Hove City Council leader Nancy Platts also said the force would soon be stationed at Brighton beach and railway station.

There, they will check to see if people are from the city.

“If people can’t show they live here then they have to get back on the train and go home,” she said.

Despite these additional duties, Chief Constable York said he had seen a difference across Sussex since the Prime Minister’s announcement – and this had an effect on policing in the area.

He said: “I’m seeing some very different behaviour this week from last week. I think there are far fewer groups around. People seem to be much more compliant.”

He said police had seen a reduction in the number of call-outs as a result.

Mr York said: “Things like pub fights and road crashes have gone down. But we think other crimes may rise such as abuse. Crimes which happen in the home.

“And it could be even harder for victims to contact us if they are with the abuser all the time. So we have to try even more to sharpen our resolve to stop these sorts of crimes.”

He said patrols would be stepped up to prevent thieves targeting empty businesses, such as Brighton events venue Concorde 2 which was broken into on Wednesday.