Travellers and gipsies head south in search of work
Police inquiry into why group descended on Norfolk town finds signs of ‘economic deprivation’
TRAVELLERS and gipsies from the north of England are heading south in search of more affluent neighbourhoods, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal. A police investigation into what caused 100 travellers to go on the rampage, forcing a Norfolk seaside town into lockdown this summer, found that “economic deprivation” and austerity policies were encouraging travellers to move in search of work.
Nearly 40 crimes, including rape, shoplifting, theft and threatening behaviour were reported to Norfolk Police over an August weekend in Cromer when 23 motor homes parked up illegally at the end of the town’s carnival.
Police failed to make a single arrest over the two days. Senior officers ad- mitted in an internal review that they failed to grasp the severity of the crime wave, in part because of “a change in nature of certain travelling groups”.
A police spokesman said: “We are seeing different types of travelling communities come to Norfolk, who previously would not have visited the county. The change is thought to be as a result of austerity, with groups traditionally based in the north of the country travelling south to seek work and so on.” Despite the council issuing notices for the group to move on, the travellers stayed put. Nick Copeman, manager at The Wellington pub who was dragged across the bar by up to 20 travellers who demanded money, does not believe they were looking for work.
“We have travellers come every year. Ninety-nine times out of 100 they come here and move on,” he said. “My guess is that these were one particular family of wronguns.”
Research by Anglia Ruskin University in 2014 found that travellers are often self-employed, choosing seasonal work such as tree-cutting, fencing or collecting scrap metal. The report highlights how women also play an important role in making money by “hawking”, where they sell lavender, lace, pegs, paper or flowers door-to-door.
Other women, the report found, told people’s fortunes. Yvonne MacNamara, chief executive of The Traveller Movement, said younger members of their community were increasingly training as plumbers, electricians or gas fitters, while women were seeking work in offices. “Due to the changing nature of the economy, gipsies and travellers are think ‘rife’ is a problematic word to use, but there are an extraordinary amount of stories of sexual abuse, both systemically and personally within theatre.
“It is hugely problematic but we are not the only industry to suffer – it’s a huge problem across the whole of society.” According to the Royal Court, 150 stories have been submitted in the last 10 days alone. The theatre, which has the backing of 30 other organisations including the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Young Vic, plans to publish a draft code of best practice next week.
This could include tips such as never meeting a powerful person for the first time out of working hours or at their homes, Ms Featherstone suggested.
Industry professionals might also be advised not to drink at such meetings. increasingly seeking employment non-traditional sectors,” she said.
According to Government figures, in 2012 the total number of caravans in England was 18,750. That figure rose to 22,004 in January this year. Of those, 6,807 were on authorised sites, 12,276 on authorised privately funded property, 2,141 on unauthorised land owned by the travellers, and 780 on unauthorised encampments on someone else’s land. These latest figures represent a 32 per cent increase in the numbers of caravans compared to 2007. in