http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1411912,00.html
Top police chiefs admit hunt ban won't work
Secret memos reveal growing fear of civil unrest
Mark Townsend, environment correspondent
Sunday February 13, 2005
The Observer
Britain's most senior police officers have raised grave concerns that the imminent hunting ban is unenforcable, will erode morale, and could precipitate large-scale civil unrest, internal documents obtained by The Observer reveal.
Records of meetings and in-house emails show the level of concern and confusion among senior officers on the eve of the ban, which this week prohibits fox hunting in England and Wales after almost 700 years. They show that any attempt to apprehend those who decide to continue hunting next weekend has already been dismissed as impractical.
An internal document circulated to senior members of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) also reveals that forces will give the ban a 'low priority', raising concerns that thousands of people who defy the ban will go unpunished.
'This has not been afforded high priority in the National Policing Plan,' the document says.
Other concerns outlined in material from Devon and Cornwall, and Avon and Somerset, constabularies - two forces with a high number of hunts in their areas - include worries that police forces are fundamentally weakened by officers who sympathise with fox hunting, or are hunters themselves. The documents from the two forces warn that the ban could undermine their 'policing style' and that should police try to enforce the ban, there could be widespread civil unrest and damaging violence. Potentially violent hunts are to be categorised in the same way as football matches, with provision for riot police.
The documents offer the first insight into the fears of police over enforcing legislation which comes into force on Friday. The following day will see most hunts - an anticipated total of 270, attracting 400,000 supporters - breaking the law in a massive show of civil disobedience.
One email from a Devon and Cornwall inspector details how he dreamt the ban would be postponed, before waking up and despairing that in fact foxhunting would be outlawed this Friday.
Tim Bonner, chief spokesman for the Countryside Alliance, said: 'The police have been placed in an impossible situation. From these documents it is quite clear they are seriously concerned about the implications of implementing the ban on their relationships with local communities'.
Yet most concern is reserved for the 'unworkability' of the legislation, which the pro-hunting lobby remains confident will lead to very few, if any, arrests. A recent Acpo memorandum, outlining strategic considerations for police chiefs, reminds that the hunting ban 'confers a power to arrest, not a duty'.
In addition, the latest briefing notes for the Chief Constables' Council, dated 27 January, reminds them that the offence is not 'accorded high priority'. Details of police action at hunt meetings reveal that the offence is regarded as nothing more serious than 'low-level wildlife crimes', which are dealt with by fixed penalties.
The documents also question how the Crown Prosecution Service will be able to prove intent 'if hunts switched to drag hunting and hounds take off after a fox'. The latest advice from Acpo advises that the offence is not a recordable offence, meaning that those convicted do not have a criminal record.
However, The Observer understands that the government has already begun looking at introducing secondary legislation to ensure that those caught do risk a criminal record. Concern has also spread to the judiciary, with at least five magistrates choosing to resign rather than administer the ban.
However, those supporting the introduction of the ban, such as the League Against Cruel Sports, maintain the legislation is simple to enforce. 'The legislation is very clear; if you are chasing a fox with a pack of dogs that is against the law,' said a league spokesman.
In the minutes of meetings held by officers in hunting hotspots such as the West Country, officers from Avon and Somerset admit that they 'are not secure as an organisation... e.g. police officers [are] involved in hunts'.
A guidance note from Acpo to the Chief Constables' Council reveals that civil unrest creates a much greater problem than actually enforcing a hunting ban. It warns that the ban's impact 'may cause greater public disorder, which will have a much higher priority than hunting offences per se '.
Provisions in other Acpo guidance add that riot police and officers trained in 'conflict management' may have to be used if widespread unrest materialises. Avon and Somerset police confirm they have looked at grading hunts in the same way as football matches.
The documents reveal that the Rural Affairs minister, Alun Michael, even tried to cajole groups such as the RSPCA to enforce the law as well as police officers, a move criticised by the pro-hunt fraternity as 'passing the buck', yet described as 'very likely' to happen by a government source.
In Devon and Cornwall, which covers at least 33 hunts, there are only six designated hunt officers to enforce the ban.
===
Nice to see some backbone in the little country who once had an empire where the sun never set.
TM
Top police chiefs admit hunt ban won't work
Secret memos reveal growing fear of civil unrest
Mark Townsend, environment correspondent
Sunday February 13, 2005
The Observer
Britain's most senior police officers have raised grave concerns that the imminent hunting ban is unenforcable, will erode morale, and could precipitate large-scale civil unrest, internal documents obtained by The Observer reveal.
Records of meetings and in-house emails show the level of concern and confusion among senior officers on the eve of the ban, which this week prohibits fox hunting in England and Wales after almost 700 years. They show that any attempt to apprehend those who decide to continue hunting next weekend has already been dismissed as impractical.
An internal document circulated to senior members of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) also reveals that forces will give the ban a 'low priority', raising concerns that thousands of people who defy the ban will go unpunished.
'This has not been afforded high priority in the National Policing Plan,' the document says.
Other concerns outlined in material from Devon and Cornwall, and Avon and Somerset, constabularies - two forces with a high number of hunts in their areas - include worries that police forces are fundamentally weakened by officers who sympathise with fox hunting, or are hunters themselves. The documents from the two forces warn that the ban could undermine their 'policing style' and that should police try to enforce the ban, there could be widespread civil unrest and damaging violence. Potentially violent hunts are to be categorised in the same way as football matches, with provision for riot police.
The documents offer the first insight into the fears of police over enforcing legislation which comes into force on Friday. The following day will see most hunts - an anticipated total of 270, attracting 400,000 supporters - breaking the law in a massive show of civil disobedience.
One email from a Devon and Cornwall inspector details how he dreamt the ban would be postponed, before waking up and despairing that in fact foxhunting would be outlawed this Friday.
Tim Bonner, chief spokesman for the Countryside Alliance, said: 'The police have been placed in an impossible situation. From these documents it is quite clear they are seriously concerned about the implications of implementing the ban on their relationships with local communities'.
Yet most concern is reserved for the 'unworkability' of the legislation, which the pro-hunting lobby remains confident will lead to very few, if any, arrests. A recent Acpo memorandum, outlining strategic considerations for police chiefs, reminds that the hunting ban 'confers a power to arrest, not a duty'.
In addition, the latest briefing notes for the Chief Constables' Council, dated 27 January, reminds them that the offence is not 'accorded high priority'. Details of police action at hunt meetings reveal that the offence is regarded as nothing more serious than 'low-level wildlife crimes', which are dealt with by fixed penalties.
The documents also question how the Crown Prosecution Service will be able to prove intent 'if hunts switched to drag hunting and hounds take off after a fox'. The latest advice from Acpo advises that the offence is not a recordable offence, meaning that those convicted do not have a criminal record.
However, The Observer understands that the government has already begun looking at introducing secondary legislation to ensure that those caught do risk a criminal record. Concern has also spread to the judiciary, with at least five magistrates choosing to resign rather than administer the ban.
However, those supporting the introduction of the ban, such as the League Against Cruel Sports, maintain the legislation is simple to enforce. 'The legislation is very clear; if you are chasing a fox with a pack of dogs that is against the law,' said a league spokesman.
In the minutes of meetings held by officers in hunting hotspots such as the West Country, officers from Avon and Somerset admit that they 'are not secure as an organisation... e.g. police officers [are] involved in hunts'.
A guidance note from Acpo to the Chief Constables' Council reveals that civil unrest creates a much greater problem than actually enforcing a hunting ban. It warns that the ban's impact 'may cause greater public disorder, which will have a much higher priority than hunting offences per se '.
Provisions in other Acpo guidance add that riot police and officers trained in 'conflict management' may have to be used if widespread unrest materialises. Avon and Somerset police confirm they have looked at grading hunts in the same way as football matches.
The documents reveal that the Rural Affairs minister, Alun Michael, even tried to cajole groups such as the RSPCA to enforce the law as well as police officers, a move criticised by the pro-hunt fraternity as 'passing the buck', yet described as 'very likely' to happen by a government source.
In Devon and Cornwall, which covers at least 33 hunts, there are only six designated hunt officers to enforce the ban.
===
Nice to see some backbone in the little country who once had an empire where the sun never set.
TM
