New powers could tackle unauthorised sites on farms

The police may soon get new powers to tackle illegal encampments
The police may soon get new powers to tackle illegal encampments

The government is consulting on new powers to arrest and seizure the property of trespassers who set up unauthorised sites on farmland.

The police could soon get new powers to criminalise unauthorised encampments which are often set up on farmland.

Currently such trespassing is defined in law as a civil matter, but the Home Office is consulting on making it a criminal offence.

It follows a review into how trespassing while setting up an unauthorised encampment could be made a criminal offence in England and Wales, learning lessons from other countries like Ireland.

As a result, the Home Office is proposing to broaden the categories of criminal trespass to cover trespassers who enter onto any land without permission of the occupier with the intention to reside.

As part of the consultation, which will begin on today (5 November), it is also seeking views from local authorities, travellers, communities and the public on alternative measures giving the police greater powers to tackle unauthorised encampments.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “Unauthorised encampments can cause misery to those who live nearby, with reports of damage to property, noise, abuse and littering.

“The public want their communities protected and for the police to crack down on trespassers.

“Our proposals aim to ensure these encampments can be challenged and removed as quickly as possible.”

Proposed amendments include lowering the number of vehicles needed to be involved in an unauthorised camp before police can act from 6 to 2.

Another looks at allowing officers to remove trespassers from camping on or beside a road and increasing the time, from 3 months to a year.

During this time, offenders would not be allowed to return to a site they have already been removed from.

Responses to an initial consultation on the amendments, launched in April 2018, were clear that problems are caused for communities and business across the country by unauthorised encampments.