Police to deal with poachers
Posted: May 1st, 2014, 12:39 pm
Police to deal with UK fish theft.
Matters regarding fish theft or poaching have been raised this morning, making both the public and anglers aware of whom to and how they should report any incidents.
Fishing without permission is a Schedule 1 Theft Act (1968), and therefore a criminal offence. It is not the Environment Agency's responsibility to deal with this, it is the police who should take care of such matters. Understandably, this is not an area of law in which police officers are generally trained, so the Angling Trust are in the early stages of liaising with all 43 forces to educate officers regarding their responsibility.
Dilip Sarkar, MBE and Fisheries Enforcement Manager for the Angling Trust spoke yesterday: “To date, we have concentrated our efforts on forces in SE England, due to VBS and Operation CLAMPDOWN 2 (OCD2). These forces on are all engaged on joint VBS/EA/police patrols in that region and in support of OCD2. Indeed, a Hampshire Police officer recently checked, purely coincidentally, one of our Area Coordinator's licenses; this was very encouraging, but unfortunately the police's overall understanding remains inconsistent.
“In an effort to resolve this, last year the Angling Trust uploaded the 'Elementary Guide to Angling Law & Fisheries Enforcement' to the Police Online Knowledge Area (POLKA) - making this simple guide available to every police officer in England. This, however, relies upon an officer searching that database for information - so the upload is not a cure-all. We now, however, have one - and hence why we need your help.
“Every offence which the police are duty bound to deal with has a unique Home Office Code. We now have the Code for Theft of Fishing Rights: 116/11. If, therefore, anglers quote this when reporting incidents, the police will understand that they must deal with the matter, rather than misinterpret the situation as a civil matter and/or attempt to pass the job over to the EA. Provision of the Code will mean that from the initial stage the call taker will understand that this is a police matter, and police officers responding can check the relevant instructions.
“Finally, and in addition to the good news above, we have had a recent result with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). One of our fishery owner members was the victim in such a case of fishing without permission, which the police duly processed, but at court the CPS lawyer completely misunderstood the Theft of Fishing Rights offence and discontinued those proceedings. Acting upon our advice, said member complained to the CPS. Gerry Wareham, the Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor, recently acknowledged the error, apologised, and instructed all CPS lawyers to proceed with such cases - and if in doubt liaise with Andrew Vaughan, the Lead Prosecutor. This really is a major step forward.”
Fish theft is something that has affected all kinds of fisheries throughout the UK. Canals, rivers and even commercial fisheries are all vulnerable to poaching by certain communities who favor our waters freshwater fish for food. It’s certainly a concern for coarse anglers whom pay a license and fee to fish many of these waters. With the police becoming increasingly away of these issues, the correct action can now be undertaken, and by reporting incidents with the Code for Theft of Fishing Rights: 116/11 quote number, we can hope to see poaching incidents reduced in the near future.
AGAIN Thanks to Pole fishing mag
Matters regarding fish theft or poaching have been raised this morning, making both the public and anglers aware of whom to and how they should report any incidents.
Fishing without permission is a Schedule 1 Theft Act (1968), and therefore a criminal offence. It is not the Environment Agency's responsibility to deal with this, it is the police who should take care of such matters. Understandably, this is not an area of law in which police officers are generally trained, so the Angling Trust are in the early stages of liaising with all 43 forces to educate officers regarding their responsibility.
Dilip Sarkar, MBE and Fisheries Enforcement Manager for the Angling Trust spoke yesterday: “To date, we have concentrated our efforts on forces in SE England, due to VBS and Operation CLAMPDOWN 2 (OCD2). These forces on are all engaged on joint VBS/EA/police patrols in that region and in support of OCD2. Indeed, a Hampshire Police officer recently checked, purely coincidentally, one of our Area Coordinator's licenses; this was very encouraging, but unfortunately the police's overall understanding remains inconsistent.
“In an effort to resolve this, last year the Angling Trust uploaded the 'Elementary Guide to Angling Law & Fisheries Enforcement' to the Police Online Knowledge Area (POLKA) - making this simple guide available to every police officer in England. This, however, relies upon an officer searching that database for information - so the upload is not a cure-all. We now, however, have one - and hence why we need your help.
“Every offence which the police are duty bound to deal with has a unique Home Office Code. We now have the Code for Theft of Fishing Rights: 116/11. If, therefore, anglers quote this when reporting incidents, the police will understand that they must deal with the matter, rather than misinterpret the situation as a civil matter and/or attempt to pass the job over to the EA. Provision of the Code will mean that from the initial stage the call taker will understand that this is a police matter, and police officers responding can check the relevant instructions.
“Finally, and in addition to the good news above, we have had a recent result with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). One of our fishery owner members was the victim in such a case of fishing without permission, which the police duly processed, but at court the CPS lawyer completely misunderstood the Theft of Fishing Rights offence and discontinued those proceedings. Acting upon our advice, said member complained to the CPS. Gerry Wareham, the Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor, recently acknowledged the error, apologised, and instructed all CPS lawyers to proceed with such cases - and if in doubt liaise with Andrew Vaughan, the Lead Prosecutor. This really is a major step forward.”
Fish theft is something that has affected all kinds of fisheries throughout the UK. Canals, rivers and even commercial fisheries are all vulnerable to poaching by certain communities who favor our waters freshwater fish for food. It’s certainly a concern for coarse anglers whom pay a license and fee to fish many of these waters. With the police becoming increasingly away of these issues, the correct action can now be undertaken, and by reporting incidents with the Code for Theft of Fishing Rights: 116/11 quote number, we can hope to see poaching incidents reduced in the near future.
AGAIN Thanks to Pole fishing mag
