Gypsies’ and Travellers' lived experiences, justice, England and Wales: 2022

• Gypsies and Travellers’ lived experiences, overview, England and Wales: 2022
• Gypsies and Travellers’ lived experiences, culture and identities, England and Wales: 2022
• Gypsies and Travellers’ lived experiences, homes, England and Wales: 2022
• Gypsies and Travellers’ lived experiences, education and employment, England and Wales: 2022
• Gypsies and Travellers’ lived experiences, health, England and Wales: 2022
• Gypsies' and Travellers' lived experiences, methodology, England and Wales: 2022

• Participants recurrently described a fear of authorities, feeling misunderstood and treated unfairly, which led in some cases to feeling unable to report a crime, and reluctance to seek help from the police.

• Gypsy and Traveller community member participants described themselves or others they knew having had challenging experiences with the police, and there was a sense that the police tend to presume criminality of Gypsies and Travellers, with perceived differential treatment linked to this.

• Perceived disproportionality and a sense of injustice were common in participants’ narratives of encounters with the justice system, including in the described use of force, presumption of crime and arrests, denial of bail and perceived over-representation of Gypsies and Travellers in prisons.

• Laws were also perceived as criminalising Gypsies’ and Travellers’ ways of life, exacerbating the sense of marginalisation and injustice.

• Community members were not always aware of the introduction of such laws, including the Scrap Metal Dealers Act (2013) and the Control of Horses Act (2015), meaning that people could inadvertently face being arrested for engaging in their traditional activities and occupations.

• Raising awareness, respect and involvement of Gypsies and Travellers within systems and processes affecting their lives were seen as important for improving relationships and experiences in the future.

• Examples of more positive relationships with the police included engaging with a familiar community liaison officer who listened and understood Gypsy and Traveller culture, providing flexibility in requesting people to move on, and appearing to show respect to Gypsies and Travellers.

This bulletin focuses on Gypsies’ and Travellers’ experiences with the police and justice system that emerged as part of participants sharing their life histories. The issues were not explored systematically and in detail with all participants, and they were linked to broader questions about experiences with a range of service providers and authorities.

The issues highlighted are drawn largely from the accounts and perspectives of Gypsies and Travellers, though perspectives from interviews with local government officials are also included, where relevant. The perspectives of police officials are not represented here as they did not take part in the research.

Although some positive experiences were reflected in participants’ descriptions of their relationships and experiences with the police, there were a variety of ways and circumstances where these were described as fraught and difficult. This emerged in the accounts of different generations of Gypsies and Travellers in the study, suggesting longstanding tensions.

There was a recurrent sense among participants that Gypsies and Travellers are automatically presumed to be criminals by the police.

Participants showed a desire for the police and others to judge people based on the individual’s own actions, rather than any possible pre-existing beliefs about Gypsies and Travellers more broadly. Participants also noted that Gypsies and Travellers, similarly to any other group, represent a microcosm of broader society, in which a majority of people do not engage in crime and a minority do.

Participants described what they viewed as heavy-handedness in how police deal with incidents involving Gypsies and Travellers. For example, there were accounts of several vans, helicopters and armed police arriving at Traveller sites for what were perceived to be minor incidents. Some felt that this was a different approach to that taken outside of sites, and that this happens more now than in the past.

Participants shared examples of how they felt the police had treated them differently because of their Gypsy or Traveller ethnicity. They felt they could be identified as a Gypsy or Traveller by living on a Traveller site or speaking with an accent common among Gypsies or Travellers, and felt this could automatically trigger a presumption that they had committed a crime.

Participants described examples where the police had been called to an incident and community members felt they were treated as suspects and threatened with arrest despite being the victim, with help or protection not offered. This was described when Gypsies and Travellers were trying to report experiences of perceived hate crime, for example, as well as in other cases.

Some also described having experienced a lack of support or feeling penalised by the police for having protected themselves against experiences of discrimination and abuse.

A sense that it would be counter-productive to call the police for help and previous experience of having done so to their own detriment dissuaded some people from engaging with the police and led to avoiding them instead.

In their life history accounts, participants also described early experiences with the police that had instilled a sense of fear from a young age, for example when their families were moved on from where they had stopped while travelling.

There were also examples of more positive relationships with police officers. Common factors among these more positive experiences included:

• trusting relationships developed over time
• a sense of mutual respect
• experiences where people felt supported, listened to and treated fairly and with empathy

Those with direct experience of the criminal justice system sometimes described having difficult family histories, not dissimilar to people in similar circumstances among the settled community.

A local government participant expressed the view that some people experience a “cycle of abuse and imprisonment”, whereby early life circumstances were seen to create a cycle of vulnerability that can be hard to escape.

Where participants identified having familial criminal history, this was also linked with described ongoing negative encounters with the police.

Several laws were seen by participants as penalising Gypsies and Travellers for their traditional cultural practices. For example, participants described being deemed as causing a nuisance for having a fire, being moved on for stopping in unauthorised places while travelling, having their horses removed while stopping, and being considered to be committing an offence by collecting scrap metal without a licence, a commonplace means of securing income for Gypsies and Travellers (see Gypsies and Travellers’ lived experiences, education and employment, England and Wales: 2022 bulletin).

Collectively, this legal framework was viewed by participants who were aware of it as unfairly targeting Gypsies and Travellers and their traditional way of life.

At the time of this research, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (2022) was due to be passed (and has subsequently been so). Some participants described a sense that the Act was further criminalising the travelling way of life, unfairly targeting Gypsies and Travellers. They were concerned about the implications of this for the culture and wellbeing of Gypsies and Travellers, as well as the potential for those who travel to be severely penalised.

While some expressed real concerns about the implications of the Act, others appeared to have little or no awareness of it and the new regulations that would come into force.

Some participants also described being unaware of other existing laws until they found themselves in difficulties. For example, participants who had been collecting scrap metal for a living for years did not realise it had become illegal to do so without a license under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act (2013). Similarly, others did not realise that they had to obtain a new license in each area where they travelled.

Some aspects of the justice system were perceived as disproportionate and unfair towards Gypsies and Travellers, such as being denied bail following arrest because of living on a Gypsy and Traveller site or having no fixed address.

Local government participants also noted a sense that Gypsies and Travellers may be disproportionately represented in prisons and felt that this warrants further scrutiny.

Experiences with the crime and justice system were also linked to concerns about social services involvement, particularly among women. While men described experiences of presumed criminality, arrests and in some cases imprisonment, women were also concerned that imprisonment of family members could result in social services taking their children into care.

Some participants shared reflections on the perceived impacts of prison on the mental health of those involved who can become isolated from their families in a system very alien to their own cultural norms.

Participants highlighted the importance of Gypsies and Travellers having involvement with government and having their voices heard by officials, to improve justice experiences and described relationships with the police.

Participants also spoke about wanting to feel understood, the importance of police officers having awareness of Gypsy and Traveller culture, the need for training, and the potential to build upon good relationships to improve experiences with police, crime and justice in the future.

Some participants also suggested thorough vetting of police officers in addition to training, to protect against the perceived risk of individual officers’ personal views influencing the way Gypsies and Travellers are treated.

Examples were given of work with Gypsies and Travellers in the prison system to address and help to improve mental health, literacy and substance abuse, and provide better opportunities for the future.

Please note, as this is a qualitative study based on data collected from interviews and focus groups, there is no accompanying dataset.

Bricks and mortar

This term is used commonly by Gypsies and Travellers when talking about homes which are permanent structures, such as houses or flats.

Participants

In this bulletin, “community members” and “participants” refers to people currently living in England and Wales, aged 16 years and over, identifying as Gypsy or Traveller, who took part in this research. Where quotes have been used from local or central government participants, this is explicitly stated. We aim to portray the views of participants and to reflect their words as closely as possible. Some quotes have been edited for language and grammar to improve accessibility, without changing the content or meaning.

Roadside

Living at the roadside means staying temporarily on public land, such as in a car park or on a verge next to a road.

Sites

Gypsy and Traveller sites are authorised places of residence which may be owned and managed by the council or privately.

More information about the background and rationale, approach to sampling and recruitment, strengths and limitations, design of the material and approach to analysis can be found in the accompanying methodology article.