Not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to embarrass themselves in public, many of our overzealous police forces have launched online contact forms so people can grass on their neighbors. Some of these portals were launched because police control rooms were “inundated” with calls from nosy neighbors. It seems many are only too keen to fill them out when they spot someone sneaking out for a quick stroll.

Cambridgeshire police tweeted: “We have now developed an online form allowing you to report individuals breaching Covid-19 restrictions via our website.” The account shared a webpage where people can give details about a person or organization ignoring the rules.

Derbyshire police have been using drones to keep the eye of the state on people wandering to beauty spots — an action I remember mocking the CCP for doing just a few months ago. One clip, which they gleefully shared on Twitter, showed two people pausing for an “unnecessary selfie” while taking a “non-essential walk.”