Police officers at ‘inadequate’ force swan off on wildlife day

Gloucestershire in special measures with one of UK’S highest rises in violence – but it can handle large birds

A POLICE force that was placed on special measures by inspectors has sent some officers to learn swan-handling.

Gloucestershire Constabulary shared photos of staff on the two-hour course at a wetlands wildlife reserve.

The move drew comparisons to the film Hot Fuzz, where Simon Pegg and Nick Frost play officers dealing with angry swans in a West Country village.

The force was last year placed in “special measures” after inspectors rated it “inadequate” in five areas including responding to the public, investigating crime and protecting vulnerable people.

Police in Stroud, in the Cotswolds, tweeted: “Rural crime officers attended a Swan Handling course this week at Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge.

“So, if we get called to incidents of swans in the road we can handle them.”

Last night, Paul Hodgkinson, the leader of the opposition on Gloucestershire council, said: “I question the validity of doing this given the police force has been put into special measures. Really the objective should be focusing on the bigger picture, particularly burglaries and violence against the person.”

The Liberal Democrat councillor for Bourton-on-the-water and Northleach added: “My constituents raise with me burglaries, particularly in rural areas, and I’ve seen an uptick. Very near to me was one that involved violence against the person which really shook people up.

“As far as I’m aware the police have not caught them.”

Gloucestershire Constabulary said: “Hundreds of wildlife and rural crimerelated incidents are reported to us each year, including a number of cases where swans and other animals have wandered on to public highways and are causing a danger. This short course was attended by a small number of neighbourhood officers who also act as specialists in wildlife and rural-related issues so that they can resolve such incidents quickly.

“This does not affect our response to crimes such as sexual assaults or impact the focus we have on improving our performance in light of a recent report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.”

Nick Evans, the deputy police and crime commissioner for Gloucestershire, said: “While this may look like something out of Hot Fuzz, it’s important to keep this in perspective. Gloucestershire is a rural county and officers are often called to deal with birds causing a danger to road users.”

While rural crime has no definition, rural police officers tend to deal with organised crime groups who target and exploit rural communities, the Neighbourhood Watch’s website states.

The National Police Chiefs Council has developed a rural affairs strategy that sets out police priorities in this area which include farm machinery, plant and vehicle theft, livestock offences, fuel theft, equine crime, fly tipping, poaching and heritage crime.

The latest Office for National Statistics figures show Gloucestershire had one of the worst year-on-year rises – 48 per cent – in violent crimes against the person in England and Wales.

Thefts from the person went up 111 per cent and burglaries 15 per cent in the year ending March. Recorded crime in England and Wales has hit a 20-year high with the proportion of offences ending in court falling to a new low.

111pc

Rise in thefts in the county. Violent crimes against the person have surged by 48 per cent and burglaries are up 15 per cent