VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — You could receive a misdemeanor charge, a fine or even jail-time for breaking Governor Ralph Northam’s stay-at-home and social distancing executive orders.
But right now, police officers are relying on "voluntary compliance," mostly issuing warnings to violators and taking a patient and trusting approach to enforcement.
“We’re not looking to go out here and arrest people or cite people," said MPO Brandon Maynard with the Newport News Police Department.
So far, no one has been arrested in Hampton Roads and a total of five people have received summonses for gathering in groups larger than 10. A summons orders someone to appear in court, whereas an arrest involves police taking someone into custody.
“We are prepared to enforce this if we have to, but we haven’t been put in that position yet," said Cpl. Amanda Moreland with the Hampton Police Division.
The Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, and Portsmouth police departments all report zero arrests, citations or summonses involving Northam's executive orders.
“All it takes sometimes is a simple explanation and a talk with somebody and they usually listen," Maynard said.
Norfolk Police charged three people in late March with gathering in groups of 10 or more people. NPD says one person was issued a summons on March 27 in the 1000 block of Little Bay Avenue, and two others received summonses on March 29 in the 1000 block of Fishermans Road.
Virginia Beach Police report its first summons was issued on March 27 in the 4200 block of Holland Road, and a second on April 1 in the 500 block of Newtown Road.
Explaining the decision to issue a summons rather than an arrest, VBPD MPO Linda Kuehn said, "For a person to be physically arrested, they would need to display obvious intent to prolong non-compliance of the governor's order."
Moreland says the Hampton Police Division is hoping for full voluntary compliance, but there’s a concern that warmer weather could force more strict enforcement of large groups.
“As the weather gets warmer, please abide by the CDC’s recommendations and continue with the social distancing," she said.
Maynard said officers could be put at risk by needing to respond to large groups of people violating the executive orders.
“We’ve all heard that people could be infected and not showing signs of infection, they could be in that group we’re trying to disperse," he said
Maynard said residents should "self-police," listen to the orders, stay home and not jeopardize the health of others. He’s hoping strong enforcement won’t be necessary in the coming months.
“If we can go through this whole ordeal and not have any arrests, that would be perfect," Maynard said.
Chesapeake Police Department Senior Police Officer Leo Kosinski said there have been "no real challenges" throughout the city and the department hopes "everyone maintains social distance and elects to stay home as much as possible" in the coming months.