TRAVELER-RELATED CRIME IN THE UK
By A Brit * February 2002

Because of the politics involved with this sensitive topic, the author of the following article  must remain anonymous.  For reasons cited in the article, any open discussion involving these groups could lead to a removal from office

I have been asked to give my observations on criminality within the Gypsy/Traveler fraternity in the UK.  It should be noted that not all Travelling people are involved in crime. However, this article pertains to that segment of the population that consistently chooses to engage in criminal activities. I make this statement to remind readers that I could just as easily give my comments on the positive factors that exist within the UK’s Travelling community.

A large number of Travelling families live on caravan sites that have been built with funds from the central government. Managing such sites is the responsibility of the local governments. Travelers are also accommodated in privately owned Travelling sites, private housing and on illegal roadside encampments.

Unlike the USA, we tend to view Gypsies and Travelers as being of one ethnic group. In law, only Gypsies are an ethnic minority, but Travelers are recognised as such by most government bodies.

My own involvement with Travelers is as a worker who gives support to the families who live in or camp with-in one particular area. I have been working with Travelers since the 1980s. Although I am academically qualified, I do not consider myself as an academic.  I am not a die in the wool Traveler supporter; but neither will I stand for any anti-Traveler discrimination from the settled community. I try to present myself as an honest broker when dealing with Traveler issues, and feel it is counter productive to deny the truth regardless of what those truths might be. Having everything out in the open is the only way to resolve issues. 

As a person working with-in the Travelling community it would be impossible not to have knowledge of the criminal activities that my client group are involved in, and it is from this position that I now document my observations.  The criminal activity that I see can be broken into three groups: (1) Benefit fraud, (2) Work related fraud, and (3) Criminal activity.

BENEFIT FRAUDS

There are approximately 350 local governments run Travelling Person Sites, which caters for more than 6000 families.  Of those families, more than 95% of them have applied for, and receive, housing  and welfare benefits; a high percentage of which are being claimed fraudulently.

This type of fraud is often ignored and viewed as petty.  The usual rationalization for ignoring these crimes involves the misbelief that any attempts to stop it would place a drain on resources that could be used elsewhere. In reality, most of these frauds could easily be prevented if a low level of investigation was carried out and applicants pressured into produce verifiable personal identification. 

False Claims  Other abuses include multiple benefit claims being made at various Social Security offices using alias names.  The most common fraud involves married women who claim that they and their children are on their own. As a result, they receive state benefits, free accommodations, and no pressure to seek or obtain employment.

Home Fraud  One of the more elaborate frauds works like this.  The suspect purchases a home and then rents it out to an accomplice.  The accomplice then applies for and receives state rent assistance, which usually equals the amount of the house payments. Furthermore, the accomplice also purchases a home using an alias, which he rents out to his partner. The partner in turn applies for rent assistance, which again covers the amount of the mortgage payments. After the state so graciously pays off both mortgages, the suspects continue to live in each other’s homes and pocket the state rent assistance money.

I am not finished with the state benefit system; it is open to further abuse.

Disability Fraud  Disablement allowances are very lucrative and easy to get if you can con a doctor into believing that you have some ailment. If a doctor does not play ball, you just keep changing doctors until you get one that will certify an ailment.

To list all the benefit schemes that the Travelers have devised would require far more space than I’ve been allotted here. I can tell you that these people know their way around the rules, and who to turn to for help in defeating the system. They have located the system’s weaknesses and have enlisted the support of Traveler activist groups and non-government agencies who know well how to transform the word “discrimination” into a lethal weapon. 

Tow Bar Getaway  Investigations by fraud officers is usually a waste of time because the suspects leave the area at the first sign of trouble. This is so common, that it is called the tow-bar syndrome. If there is trouble on the horizon, just hook the caravan up to a tow bar and disappear. Another certainty for officers, who attempt to investigate these offenses, is that they will not get any help from other Travelers who have come to view benefit fraud not as crimes, but as a right.

WORK RELATED FRAUD

Most, if not all, travelling men do some sort of work regardless of their benefit status. Gardening, tree felling, roofing, painting, fitting flashings and tar work are the common earners in our area. We do have one group who make a good living collecting cockles and other shellfish from the seashore.

Beating the Competition  Shell fishers are hard working people. They collect the shellfish from below the high water mark on the shore regardless of the often-poor weather conditions; best pickings are in the winter. The problem comes when Traveler groups ignore health warnings and gather shellfish in areas where the shellfish have been designated as being unfit for human consumption. The contaminated catch is then transported to other areas and sold for a handsome profit.  About the worst punishment for such violators involves the confiscation of their catch and a stern warning not to duplicate this behaviour.

To further compound the problem, these Travelers do not pay the requisite taxes, nor do they have the expense of operating a business establishment. They also lack insurance coverage, and their guarantees are often worthless. Waste or rubbish that is removed from the work place is not always disposed of properly and can end up at the side of the road. These, and other shoddy business practices, do not sit well with the legitimate tradesmen.  As they see it, the Travelers can often undercut their prices and offer seemingly amazing guarantees because they have no intention of making good on any of their promises.

Intimidation Tactics  Many so-called Traveler businesses use intimidation tactics when dealing with an uninformed public.  When they obtain a job trimming trees, dressing driveways, or other such repair work, they initially provide the victim with a very reasonable estimate. Once the job is completed they increase the quoted price by two or three hundred percent.  Pressure is then placed on the victim to pay up or face the consequences. This tactic works well on elderly victims. Should the victim be more able-bodied, additional Travelers are brought in to intimidate the person into paying.  In most cases, this tactic is successful.

Shoddy Work  The work that is performed by these groups is often substandard. I have heard of tar being laid that never sets, roofs that continued to leak after repairs, and work that was guaranteed for ten years that did not survive the first winter.

Cash Grab  In some instances, soon after the job begins, the Traveler informs the victim that money is needed to purchase supplies.  If the victims pay up, that is the last they will see of the contractor or their money.

Inflated Prices  Another scam involves calling on householders and offering to clean their guttering for a small fee, say £25. ($35)  Once the Traveler has the confidence of the householder, and is on the roof, he can resort to a number of cons.

He will say that the guttering and flashings require replacing or painting, or there is something seriously wrong with the roof. He can easily dupe elderly homeowners into believing that the roof is going to fall down and destroy their house. They assure the troubled homeowner that everything will be okay if they are allowed to immediately complete the job--- there is no time to waste. Of course, there is no need to get other estimates because they are the cheapest and most reliable contractors in town.

It is easy to see how a householder can be steamrollered into parting with cash when confronted by these criminal groups who have long since become experts at parting vulnerable people from their cash. During a recent case involving an elderly couple, the Traveler con artists walked away with over £60,000 ($85,422) for repairs that were never made.  

CRIMINAL ACTIVITY

Most workers within the Traveler support industry area non-Travelers. Needless to say, this does not result in any open or frank discussions about their criminal activities.

The Traveler’s family histories go back generations, and every one is in some way related. This is why Traveler crime flourishes. When it is to their advantage, the group will work with outsiders, but such accomplices are seldom given any details of the operation, and they are left to take the rap when the scam goes sour. This closed shop style of operation is one of the main reasons law enforcement agencies find it difficult to make any headway when working on possible Gypsy/Traveler related crimes.

Fortune Telling  The traditional fortune telling con games appear to be on the decline. I am led to believe that there are only a small number of people now involved in this particular racket. Overall, there is better and easier money to be made from benefit frauds, and the likelihood of being caught is much less than it was with fortune telling scams.

Insurance Fraud  Unlike the USA, fraudulent insurance claims are taken very seriously in the UK. The insurance investigators are very strict and most claims are looked into properly. Because of this, the insurance companies seem to be ahead of the game.

Drugs  There are some Travelers involved in drug dealing. For the most part, the use of and trafficking in drugs is frowned on and avoided. Travelers will ignore another family’s involvement with drugs, but will not get involved themselves.

Common Bond  Although the Gypsy/Travelers do interact with the criminal elements within our society, those relationships are usually brief and only exist when it is to their advantage Violence between both groups is not uncommon; however, seldom will these groups supply law enforcement officers with any information that could bring serious consequences to their temporary enemies.

Problems faced when investigating alleged crime within the Travelling community.

The closed shop approach to family business makes it almost impossible for investigators to discover what, if any, crimes the families are committing. Family connections go back generations and are strong.

Traveling criminals are also well versed on their legal rights. They know exactly how the system works, and how to use it to their advantage. For instance, they know that they can only be held for a limited period of time in police custody without being charged. Being brought in for questioning tells them that the officer probably lacks sufficient information to charge them. They then invest a few hours making non-committal statements, after which time they are set free. 

Most investigators have been conditioned to avoid involvement with Traveler cases whenever possible.  Faced with large workloads, and pressure to obtain results, leaves the investigators with little time to invest on cases that show little hopes of ever being tried in a court of law. 

Hands-Off Policy  Because of strict racial equality regulations, there is always a danger that any investigation against members of a racially connected group may result in complaints against the investigating authority. These complaints usually come from, or are supported by, various Non-Government Agencies (NGA’s) or supporters who work within the Travelling community. These agencies are only too happy to have a go at persons who are interested in the criminal activities of their client group.

The reluctance by investigators to look into the criminal activities of these groups also stems from the Steven Laurence Inquiry and the McPherson report. Both resulted in new guidelines and procedures that the police must follow when dealing with members of any ethnic or ethnically recognised groups. There have been reports in the news media that some police officers who work in areas with a large ethnic populations, feel there are too many restraints put on them, making it impossible to control or investigate the criminal activities committed by such groups.

Kinder Approach   To make a bad situation worse, all police units that once specialized in the investigation of Traveler activities have been disbanded.  In their place, most forces now have units that are involved in “bridge building” with the Traveler community and their supporters. These units are still in their infancy so it is difficult to gauge their usefulness.

The Spin Factor  The recent setting up of devolved parliaments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland could have tremendous affects as to how Traveler related issues are handled throughout the UK. There has been NGA led campaigns in both Scotland and Northern Ireland in recent years about Travelers and their rights. The evidence given before these parliaments was very one sided and, with few exception, only friends and allies of the NGA’s were given the right to speak on the record. A number of depositions were submitted giving a more realistic picture of Traveler issues, but few were considered as relevant and subsequently were never viewed by the members of that parliament when making their recommendations. Neither was any attempt made to ascertain the accuracy of the information presented, or of the qualifications of the presenters. In some cases, the persons giving evidence to the parliamentary committee had not been in their position for long, and only a very small percentage of their work was with the Travelling community.

FINAL OBSERVATIONS

My job is to help and support Traveler families and act as an honest broker on their behalf with the surrounding settled community and local government agencies. I do not know of any other non-law enforcement occupation where a worker would come against so much criminal activity. I did not set out to find the above information; it came to me through my work within the Travelling community. I would not say that the above crimes are only committed by Travelers, but my observations would indicate that criminality within these groups is much higher than the national level.

What is really needed is for parliament to sponsor a reality check of criminality with-in the Travelling community and then decide what action to take. If that means meeting the problem head on then so be it. A criminal is a criminal, is a criminal, no matter what their beliefs or ethnic background. Only when the politicians become aware of this, and are prepared to do the decent thing by the law abiding members of the public, will we put an end to criminal families hiding behind their ethnic origins.

The law-abiding members of the Travelling community do not help their situation when they ignore or support the criminal element that exists within their community. Their silence allows such people to avoid accountability for their anti-social behaviour. We live in a multi-cultured society where the barriers between different societies are disappearing. If the Gypsy/Travelers ever decide to confront the criminal groups within their community, I suspect that the common belief that all Gypsy/Travelers are criminals would eventually fade away.  This would not happen over night, but I believe that it would happen.