New laws set to be announced by the Home Office this week as part of the upcoming Criminal Justice Bill, will speed up the process of removing unauthorised camps.
Currently, most cases of trespass are not a criminal offence and unauthorised camps are dealt with as civil matters. Only ‘aggravated trespass’ can lead to arrest, and it is difficult to prove.
Under the proposals, travellers who ignore a landowner’s request to move their vehicles on will face arrest under ‘intentional trespass’ laws carrying a three-month maximum prison sentence or a fine of up to £2,500, or both.
Welcoming the proposals was St Austell and Newquay’s Member of Parliament, Steve Double, who said:
“Unauthorised encampments are normally a regular occurrence in Mid-Cornwall every summer. The process in place for Cornwall Council and the police to deal with them was in my mind not fit for purpose. It took too long to remove illegal encampments and in the meantime the police’s hands were tied from taking action. This caused no end of trouble for local land-owners as well as costing the Cornish taxpayer thousands of pounds.”
“I have spoken on this issue in Parliament in the past and responded to the consultation the Government held supporting changes to these rules.”
“Delivering on these changes was also a Manifesto commitment of this Government and I am pleased to see once again, the Conservative Government which I am a part of delivering on its promises to support law abiding citizens.”