PSNI officers cannot be expected to "solely carry the burden" of Covid-19 vaccine passport enforcement, the Police Federation of Northern Ireland has said.
The group's chair Mark Lindsay said "organisations other than the police" have responsibilities in upholding legislation agreed by ministers last week that will see people asked to prove vaccine status in order to gain entry to hospitality venues and other indoor settings.
He referred to the ban on indoor smoking at hospitality venues, introduced in 2006, as an example of legislation rules being enforced by the retail and entertainment sectors themselves, without the intervention of police.
"Only on very rare occasions are police called in to deal with breaches of the peace where people wilfully ignore the instruction from staff," he said.
"The same should apply to Covid regulations. There is a collective responsibility by ministers to deliver on enforcement. Efforts to make the Department of Justice the main enforcement department are misplaced. Others, too, such as public transport and entertainment and retail sectors must work in unison to deliver effective enforcement.
"There will always be a place for police officers should matters escalate and intervention is necessary to support staff, but they cannot be expected to carry the burden alone."
He added: "Only concerted, joined-up action will deliver for the entire community. Anything short of that will fail to deliver desired outcomes."
