From: "David M", [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Electronic Telegraph
ISSUE 2065 Friday 19 January 2001
Hunt ban will harm country policing, say chiefs
By John Steele, Crime Correspondent
CHIEF constables have warned the Home Office that a ban on hunting with dogs
could damage relationships between the police and rural communities and
stretch already limited resources.
The Association of Chief Police Officers told the Government that its
members strongly supported the regulation of hunting by an independent
licensing authority "which did not involve the police".
When the Home Office consulted chiefs over proposals for legislation,
"significant concerns were expressed at the practical difficulties in
enforcing a total ban", the association said yesterday after MPs had voted
for a ban.
Police chiefs were already under "enormous pressure" to tackle rural crime,
it said, suggesting that, without extra money, the policing of hunts might
drain resources from other operations. "The concerns of such communities at
increasing crime in the countryside has been widely reported. The question
of policing priorities would become subject to renewed debate if a total ban
were imposed."
The association, which represents chiefs in 43 forces in England and Wales,
has kept a low public profile during the consultation period that led to the
presentation to MPs on Wednesday of three options: a total ban, a middle way
of a licensing authority, or self-regulation. MPs voted overwhelmingly for a
total ban, backed by fines of up to £5,000.
Although the association statement makes clear, in unusually forthright
terms, that chiefs are far from enthusiastic about a ban, its release only
after the vote reflected the chief constables' traditional reluctance to be
seen to be influencing political decisions.
The association told the Home Office that, for practical reasons, there was
strong support for the middle way option of "having hunting with dogs
controlled and regulated by an independent licensing body which did not
involve police".
Strong views were recorded in Home Office meetings about the "potential
impact upon resources", the statement said. "Forces policing rural areas are
already under enormous pressure to deal with crimes such as burglary,
vehicle crime and drugs-related offences. Without additional resources, hard
decisions will have to be made on policing priorities and how
thinly-stretched resources are deployed."
Under the Government's crime and disorder legislation, "police and local
communities are working in close partnership to identify and tackle issues
of concern to local people", the statement continued. "The extent to which
hunting with dogs will feature in this process is, at this stage, unclear."
The association also expressed concern about the practical problems of
policing hunt meetings. It said: "Police experience of dealing with protests
at hunts leaves us with no doubt as to the passion related to this issue, on
both sides, and the practical difficulties involved in policing such events.
Officers can find themselves in a no-win situation."
Tim Hollis, the assistant chief constable of South Yorkshire, who played a
central role in consultation with the Home Office, said: "We were grateful
to be involved in consultation and for the opportunity to outline our
concerns on the potential impact on local policing of the three options
under consideration.
"The demands being made on police resources are constantly rising. We are
committed to doing our best to meet the priorities of the Government and of
our local communities. Public debate on the recent crime statistics reflects
the importance that people put on law and order.
"It goes without saying that the police will do their best to meet the
demands of any new legislation. But inevitably hard decisions will have to
be made on priorities."
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