TOP COPS BACK ‘GYPSY CAMPS GALORE’ PLANS
Call for taxpayers to stump up
POLICE chiefs are calling for scores of official traveller camps to be set up in every corner of Britain.
Leading officers have ignored pressure from politicians to ramp up evictions of illegal gypsy and traveller sites.
Traveller groups have suggested six sites be built for every council area – using taxpayers’ cash. The National Police Chiefs Council wants new sites to help crack down on dodgy caravan camps.
Police have shrugged off calls to toughen up laws that let officers pull travellers off private land they illegally occupy.
In a joint statement with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, the NPCC said: “Transit and permanent developments are needed, run by councils or privately.”
Housing Minister Dominic Raab admitted he was troubled by rogue camps where “the rule of law does not apply” and criminal behaviour can cause issues.
But the national police spokesman on gypsy, Roma and traveller issues, Acting Chief Constable Janette McCormick, said local authorities could boost “community relations” by splashing out on specially designed campgrounds.
Chairman of the Gypsy and Traveller Council, Phien O’Reachtagian, warned if the government cracks down on the community, travellers will band together to protect each other. The Star Says: Page 6