Protest section 4 Police Bill.

I’m afraid prejudices will have been reinforced against all travellers at Oakham and possibly elsewhere.

*visitors “come down here for the week and trash the place as if it is a holiday park.” They continue to explain that “I have heard of people who don’t get tickets, just causing havoc”. This statement is supported by Avon and Somerset
Constabulary. The report in which was written shows the increase in crime around the area during the festival. Participant 4 corroborates with participant 5 and the
report by explaining a neighbour “lives on the border and somebody broke into her house. They were on some sort of drugs and they went over her fence”. They continue by saying
that “I have heard there are many intruders whilst the festival is on that rob the local houses”. This shows a clear correlation between the secondary and primary research suggesting that criminal activity does exist within the area and the festival does encourage negative behavioural consequences.*

The above is a quote from a report into the Glastonbury festival and its impact on the local community.

No Travellers there - just a huge gathering which attracts anti-social elements that disrupt the local community.

I am in no way condoning the behaviour of the small minority of Travellers who are causing such disruption in Rutland. I am just trying to point out that the problem is with people, not specifically with Travellers; and with large gatherings of non-Travellers creating similar problems.

The Travellers who have organised this Christian gathering have done everything by the book and will be as horrified by the anti-social element as we are - probably more so as they know how their reputation will be tarnished.

The Mirror said residents of Oakham were too scared to leave their homes.

I don’t know not I do

I saw it in The Sun online which said it was Mayhem with 1,500 travellers and Macdonald having to shut its doors, amid complaints that the festival was allowed to take place when Covid restrictions are in force. I do what kind of paper The Sun is - not oneI usually look at but wanted to avoid DM

So the DM has played it up and the BBC News has played it down, so somewhere in the middle is the truth.

Here's the story on the Daily Mail website. Whatever the original intentions there are 1,500 travellers there and a lot of troublemakers causing problems.
Daily Mail Article
Quote: Oakham was in a 'state of panic' amid anti-social behaviour, assaults, high-speed drag-racing reminiscent of the Mad Max films and claims gangs of men were 'driving around the villages looking for things they can take'. Several supermarkets and other businesses in the town in Rutland closed early following claims of looting and toilets being left unusable for customers, while witnesses said maskless youths terrorised staff and diners in the local McDonald's and went behind the counter to grab meals and hurl food and drink.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-57544937

Tried to find this on the BBC news website but they'd sooner sit at their desks and tell us about Naga Munchetty having her coil fitted and the new cast of Love Island. All the really important stuff. ?

The religious festival has not been "taken over" by Travellers - they are the organisers! It is a Traveller religious festival.

When there is any large gathering of people there will be a small minority who cause trouble. This happens at big music festivals and do we say that all festival-goers are anti-social people? - no.

I have looked at the reports of this event and it is clear that the organisers have co-operated fully with the authorities, produced proper covid risk assessments, and are now co-operating with the police to deal with the anti-social elements. What more can they do to keep people happy?

If you forget that they are Travellers and simply see them as a large religious gathering where the organisers are trying their best to deal with the anti-social fringe, it puts a different perspective on it all.

After what has happened at Rutland show ground with travellers taking over a religious festival and using intimidating behaviour including spitting at people not many are going to have much sympathy for travellers and will be in favour of the Bill.

Thank you so much for the people who have offered support, or maybe learned something new.
I would never condone what these people do, and agree it's criminal, so let's prosecute the guilty without including the innocent.
I've been mailing as many MP's as I can find, it might be futile, but I need to try. There were 29 MP's signed against but none of them were Conservative.
So anyone who was asking how they can help, please try the Conservative MP's.
May thanks again, and sorry for those who can't see the wood for the trees. I hope you don't want to stop for a picnic anywhere without the owners permission. i.e calling the local council before you stop and asking them.
Or, don't moan when you see homeless people not allowed to sleep rough, they just have to keep on walking.

Sorry, I missed a "not " there; Not putting something on social media is not the same as turning a blind eye

Putting something on social media is not the same as turning a blind eye. Putting things on Facebook is an incitement to take matters into your own hands. Phone the Police. If they don't come, complain.

We're not living in some kind of medieval state where justice is meted out by the people who think they've been wronged.

Galaxy

I hate seeing that kind of thing on social media it's often accompanied by threats of violence.

So we should turn a blind eye to everything we see - no wonder things have got so bad and the criminals rule the community

Katie59

Social media can be used to report and stop criminal activity it only needs the will to do it. We are not likely to stop all criminality, we an reduce it.

Yes, social media can also start a frenzy of racism.
It's amazing how quickly the locals know we have arrived, it's full of nasty comments and of course encourages attacks on us.

Gove was a prime example during the pandemic.
A shielding family were told by the council where to park, not normally done, but they were to be supplied with toilets and facilities for clean water.
It was a family on grandparents, parents and children.

Before the council had time to install these Gove had whipped up such racism and told Police they were wrongdooers. Because of this they were moved, within the hour. Gove reporting thanks to the Police, for acting so quickly.
Evictions all over the place, even though they shouldn't have been happening during this time.

No, the honest people on those estates should get together and stop the illegal activity.
You see there's the mistaken idea that it is completely black and white when there are so many grey areas. Like the children in school wearing shop lifted clothes because they were cheap and their parents were struggling financially. Or the people from those families who were absolutely honest but suffered because their surname was known as being one of criminals.

It, not ot.

I’m with alegrias1 here, there are a number of racist posts in this thread. Many of these ‘reasonable’ statements echo so closely statements made in nazi Germany in the 1930s that it’s chilling to read them. Certainly education needs to happen, but not necessarily where people think ot should.

Romaroot I think you show great courage in standing up for your rights here, it’s dreadful to be on the receiving end of such vilification. Apart from pestering my MP and spreading the word, what could I do to help? Attending protests isn’t a possibility due to impairments.

I'm copying some of what's on the other thread, but I fail to see how reporting criminality on Social Media is appropriate.

If something is being reported to the Police (e.g.) via their Facebook page, if its public then anybody can see it and the vigilantes have all the info they need.

If something is put on the "local" FB page, then its just an invitation for people to take things into their own hands.

I hate seeing that kind of thing on social media it's often accompanied by threats of violence.

Social media can be used to report and stop criminal activity it only needs the will to do it. We are not likely to stop all criminality, we an reduce it.

Does neighboirhood watch stop much criminal activity, it may I am just not really aware of the evidence on that.

There's a very interesting thread going on at the moment about Social Media, and there was an example given about how suspected wrongdoers pop up on Facebook and get "targeted" before the Police can get near them.

While we all have a responsibility to try to prevent wrongdoing, I'm not a fan of getting Joe Public too involved in keeping the peace.