Criminalising wild camping? New Government proposals to make trespass a criminal offence could leave riders with a record
Traveller legislation likely to have broader consequences
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The Government is proposing new legislation to make trespass a criminal offence but it's likely that changes to the law, aimed at increasing police powers against travellers, could have serious implications for wild campers and others who stray off public rights of way in England and Wales.
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The Government's proposal is to change the law to criminalise trespassing when setting up an 'unauthorised encampment' in England and Wales. Existing legislation would be amended to broaden the conditions under which the police can get involved to move on travellers or arrest them and seize their property, but there is a danger that the scope of legislation could creep to criminalise much wider groups of potential users.
The Home Office is proposing to broaden the categories of criminal trespass to cover trespassers who enter onto any land without permission of the occupier with the intention to reside. The proposals are directly aimed at travellers, but in theory, it could directly result in people who wild camp, such as bikepackers, ending up with a criminal record.
It's worth noting that over 75% of police forces and police commissioners feel that existing powers are sufficient to deal with unauthorised encampments, according to a Freedom of Information request.
At the moment, trespass on land is a civil offence and it requires the landowner to bring their own case against the offender in court. The police would not be involved unless any damage had been done during the trespass - in which case the charge of criminal damage could be levelled - or if there was a special statutory provision in place that would make it a criminal offence.
What is worrying some commentators is that this might be part of a larger drive by the Government to increase the power of landowners at the expense of the rights of the broader public. This is backed up by the 2019 Conservative manifesto, which explicitly stated: "We will make intentional trespass a criminal offence".
If trespass is a criminal offence, it could end up with landowners calling the police on people who have strayed off rights of way, such as riders using 'wild' trails which may have existed and been used for a long time but are technically illegal. That could mean a massive clampdown on the unofficial networks of trails all across the country.
In Scotland, the right of people to enjoy wild spaces is enshrined in law, with their open access legislation allowing free range across the countryside unless a landowner has good reason to prevent access. The potential for similar land reform has been mooted in Wales, but there has been staunch opposition in England to such a system.
We contacted Cycling UK, who had this to say: "If we are to take the promise made in the Conservative Manifesto on face value, then Cycling UK is very concerned about the potential to criminalise many of the off-road community, given that from our Rides of Way report we know about a third of riders don’t know the status of the trail they’re on. That’s a lot of people who might become lawbreakers, due to an inadequate antiquated system and could do a lot to prevent people from even taking their first trips out onto the trails.
"Once we’ve looked into the consultation, Cycling UK intends to respond, and we will make the point trespass should not be criminalised more generally, and call for the guidance to be made clearer particularly in regards to rights of way.
"One area which will be of particular concern to wild camping and bikepacking community is the lack of clarity over Government’s definition of “reside”. There’s nothing to suggest this is for one or two nights or longer. We’ll also be looking to clarify this point."
We'd suggest that you respond to the consultation below with your thoughts on the matter.
- www.gov.uk/government/consultations/strengthening-police-powers-to-tackle-unauthorised-encampments
- www.cyclinguk.org
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12 comments
Some of us know what a large proportion of landowners are like in this country, many of them would dearly love to use any law - and in some cases use it to justify brute force - to prevent anyone being on 'their' land for any purpose. [IMO it's not actually theirs anyway but that's another story]
If we put aside the rights and wrongs of travellers on private land for now and consider the thorny topic of creating a law as a way to persecute minority groups. We've seen that happen before.
Do landowners really need a law criminalising trespass to enforce their wishes? And it's all well and good saying that mass trespass works but when XR are labelled as an 'extremist organisation', effectively that people who care about the future are in the same category as terrorists, then a trespass law will be another excuse for the authorities to start beating people up and making arrests. And if you think I'm scaremonger, well, we've seen that before too; for me it recalls the Miners' strike but there are other examples.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
This isn't about straying on to private land, it's about groups of travellers in vehicles, not people on bikes, entering and damaging land. If you pitch a tent and someone asked you to leave, just like if you stray from the path in the woods, pack up and move on.
Ok, I'll say this again, this would not pass the reasonable man test if applied to 2 cyclists.
Get a sense of proportion people
How is it obvious it's aimed at motor vehicles?
The consultation is a hideous example of leading questions, showing no intent to actually consult.
Criminalising trespass is just that, and is back to the 30s when my Grandma joined the Mass Tresspass.
"I didn't think the leopards would eat my face! " says man who voted for face-eating leopard party.
How sweet. You are too innocent for the modern world.
Its incredibly easy to stray on to private land inadvertently. There are a lot of droves near me which run through private land with private tracks branching off. Have been caught out more than once and stopped by gamekeepers/farmers. Usually a "sorry mate, didn't realise, won't do it again" is acceptable enough. I'd hate to see the return, perhaps mandataory, of unsightly "Private Land" signage.
Yet again this is an example of a disproportionate response to a problem caused by a small section of society, in order to benefit another small section of society, to the detriment of the majority. Of course, the Tories have plenty of form on this - remember the Repetitive Beats legislation in the early 90s?
Strikes me that this change in the law wouldn't affect tourists as it's obviously aimed at people using motor vehicles and under the "reasonable man test" it would be clear that cyclists are not covered.
Mass trespass has worked In the past. This government seems poised to take us back to the Thirties.
Of course, you could always just come to Scotland, where with a few exceptions, responsible wildcamping is welcomed with open arms.