Police will not be routinely stopping vehicles or setting up road blocks but will continue to use the common sense and discretion once travel restrictions become law.
From Friday, people living in level three or level four local authorities will be breaking the law if they make non-essential journeys outside their own council area.
People living elsewhere in Scotland must not travel to level three or level four areas, except for essential purposes.
In addition there must be no non-essential travel between Scotland and other parts of the UK.
Assistant Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: “We will use enforcement as a last resort where there is a clear breach of the legislation.
“The chief constable has said publicly on numerous occasions that we will not be routinely stopping vehicles or setting up road blocks, and that will not change as a result of travel restrictions now being in law.
“However, officers may in the course of their duties come across people who are travelling from one local authority area to another.
In areas where travel restrictions apply, officers will continue to use the common sense, discretion and excellent judgement that they have applied since the crisis began.”
A number of exceptions are currently listed on the Scottish government website under the following caveat: “Please do not see these as loopholes. It is important for everyone’s safety that we all minimise such travel as much as possible.”
They include travel for healthcare, social care, childcare and other essential services – including recycling – but only if they are not available in your local area.
Journeys to school, college or university are permitted where teaching is not provided remotely.
Travel for work, or to provide voluntary or charitable services, falls into this category but “only where that cannot be done from your home”.
Also included is travel for essential shopping “only where it is not possible in your local authority area”.
So too is travel for shared parenting or between the two parts of an extended household.
Other exceptions include travel to meet a legal obligation, to move house, for essential animal welfare reasons and for “life events” such as weddings or funerals.
People are permitted to transit through level three or four areas if the journey begins and ends outside such areas.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
