23 March 2010

The government has today called on local councils to make use of ASBOs and other powers to tackle antisocial behaviour explicitly “associated with Gypsies and Travellers”. In new guidance published today, the government states that perceptions that the community is treated differently from the rest of the population “damages public confidence about fair treatment for all”.

It is worrying that the government has singled out an ethnic group in this way for differential treatment in relation to crime prevention measures. This is especially concerning given that Runnymede found in its 2006 report on ASBOs that there is currently no systematic ethnic monitoring of antisocial behaviour tools and as a result, it is impossible  to tell whether these tools are being used in a discriminatory way.

It is also a concern that by portraying the Gypsy and Traveller community as a particular problem the government could potentially be legitimizing a backlash against these groups.

Alongside today’s announcement, Communities and Local Government Secretary John Denham MP welcomed new planning rules to speed up the enforcement process for quicker action against developments without planning permission such as unauthorised Gypsy and Traveller sites.

The government announcement follows weeks of parliamentary questions on the Gypsy and Traveller community. Most notably, Baroness Whitaker criticized the government last week for not prioritizing the introduction of legislation before the election to extend security of tenure on Gypsy and Traveller sites to that available to other caravan dwellers.