"For too long, the people of Scarfolk have indulged in the unmonitored luxury of glancing," stated Chief Inspector Thomas Blink of the DPS in a rare public address via tannoy system this morning. "This 'glancing,' or 'sideways viewing,' has been statistically linked to a myriad of undesirable outcomes, including independent thought, suspicious awareness, and, in several documented cases, 'looking too far into things.'"
The "Eyes Forward" initiative mandates that all citizens, when in public spaces, must maintain a forward-facing gaze, with a permissible head rotation of no more than 15 degrees in either direction. Any visual input beyond this prescribed arc must be officially logged and approved by a designated Municipal Gaze Warden.
New public information posters, depicting stern-faced officials with tightly focused eyes, will be distributed across the borough. They bear the stark message: "YOUR VIEW IS OUR CONCERN. KEEP IT FORWARD. KEEP IT SAFE."
Failure to comply with the "Eyes Forward" directive will result in a mandatory assessment at the Municipal Optical Re-alignment Clinic (MORC). Citizens exhibiting persistent "peripheral drift" may be prescribed corrective lenses designed to narrow their field of vision or, in extreme cases, undergo a voluntary period of "Sensory Containment."
Local optometrists, under the directorship of the Council, have begun stock-piling specially tinted spectacles that restrict sideways glances. "We are here to serve the visual health of the public," commented Dr. Agnes Squint, lead optician at Scarfolk Civic Optical Services, "and sometimes, health means less seeing, more knowing what you're supposed to see."
The Council assures citizens that this measure is purely for their own protection, preventing them from accidentally observing information that could cause them undue stress or, worse, inspire unapproved lines of questioning.