Police chief says tech has lifted the lid on 'farcical' era of policing since Hunting Act - Warwickshire hunt under the spotlight on Channel 4 news

Chief Superintendent Matthew Longman – National Police Chiefs' Council lead on Fox Hunting Crime - spoke on a Channel 4 news programme on Monday.

The report centred on a secret arrangement between Warwickshire Hunt and Warwickshire Police which neither the public, national crime groups nor even he have been able to see.

The protocol, and all the controversy that comes with it, is an issue that we have been reporting on for many months – and now the subject is getting national attention, with a report on Channel 4 news.

The secret protocol was agreed by the hunt and the highest officers of Warwickshire Police, days before a court case was due to hear the hunt’s appeal against a Community Protection Notice (CPN) which would have obliged it by law to tell police any time its horses and hounds crossed a main road.

The programme showed West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs’ film showing the hunt ‘causing chaos’ on the roads and a fox being killed – its body being taken away by a huntsman – after the protocol had been adopted.

The Warwickshire Hunt has always said accusations of anti-social behaviour have been wildly exaggerated. They have always said their hunting activities are restricted to trail hunting (following a pre-laid scent) and within the law. And the hunt has warned that saboteurs film is not ‘raw and unedited’.

On the programme, hunt Joint-Master Lizzie Sinden said the protocol was an out-of-court settlement. She said the hunt is genuinely accountable even though this was a secret deal.

Asked whether the public had a right to know about policing and the arrangement, she said: “The protocol is between us and the police, not between us and the members of the general public. Why do they need to know? Is everything in life subject to... public scrutiny? I don't think it is.

"Who says it’s not working? We'll base our feedback from Warwickshire Police, not on that of a couple of individuals on social media with their own agenda. At the end of the day we are accountable to the police. We're not free of being prosecuted or being issued with another CPN.

"If the evidence is credible, we'll fully cooperate with the police. The protocol has not put us above the law,” she said.

Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western said he has been inundated with complaints about the hunt from constituents.

"Across Warwickshire, hundreds of people have been in touch and shown support and real anger about what they see taking place,” he said.

“This (secret protocol) is a really dangerous precedent for the way policing is done across all communities. What we have is some sort of special arrangement that has been made and agreed to by two parties, including the police. That cannot be in the best interests of the public and it cannot be in the best interests of law and order.”

Mr Western has raised the subject as a national policing issue with the Home Secretary, the Environment department, Warwickshire’s Chief Constable and the elected Police and Crime Commissioner. He says he's got nowhere.

Ch Supt Matthew Longman said: “This is a much bigger issue than just the killing of foxes. This is not a small group of people who are protecting animal rights. Large swathes of communities are facing intimidation and criminal damage.

“There's a public perception that a relatively small group of people, well connected people in some instances, have enjoyed some privileges, not having rules applied to them that might otherwise be applied to other people. If this was a group of young people on motorbikes causing that level of damage and pet destruction etc, we wouldn't be having this conversation. It is a public perception we need to take very seriously at a time when we're seeing reducing confidence in policing.

“I think they need an urgent review. Looking back on 20 years (since the Hunting Act), the advent of technology, social media and drones is really helping us achieve this. It has lifted the lid on what is fast becoming possibly one of the most farcical eras in criminal justice history, because hunts are still offending. We are seeing it regularly.

"So the (Hunting) Act cannot be working. Trail hunting cannot be working if hounds are down busy roads in front of ambulances. And therefore the Hunting Act is going to need reform to close some of these loopholes that are continually being exploited and putting police in a very difficult position as we try to rebuild trust and confidence within our communities.

"We're talking about antisocial behaviour legislation, again indicating that the Hunting Act is not working for us. This needs a conversation at the highest level. I think it is going to take significant courage to change what is a mindset, and apply the same level of rules that are applied to the rest of the country to this topic.

"What we want to see is operational officers, who are having the courage to step into this area, ensuring that they have got the backing of police leadership - and I think it really is going to test the backbone of senior leadership. It needs far more scrutiny at the highest level,” he said.

In response to the programme, ACC David Gardner from Warwckshire Police said: “Following a video circulated online, two males were interviewed in connection with alleged offences under Section 1 of the Hunting Act.

“Officers prepared a file on this and the matter is now with the Crown Prosecution Service, whose decision it is whether to charge.

“Last year we took civil action following concerns raised by the community over road safety while hunt activity took place.

“This came in the form of a Community Protection Notice [CPN], which we issued.

“The CPN outlined several steps that Warwickshire Hunt must take to ensure that both they and any members of the public using the roads are safe.

“This civil order concerned safety around the roads. It had no bearing on the hunt’s legal right to trail hunt.

“Warwickshire Hunt exercised their right to appeal the CPN and this meant the CPN was suspended awaiting appeal.

“The Hunt then agreed to a protocol that saw the introduction of safety and monitoring measures that are far wider-reaching than anything the CPN originally stipulated.”

“The protocol was agreed between solicitors for both sides during a mediation and is therefore confidential.

“Neither a CPN nor a protocol impacts on our ability to investigate and seek prosecution for criminal acts.

“Officers welcome any reports of criminal offences. Those witnessing such incidents are asked to report them by calling 101 or visiting www.warwickshire.police.uk/ro/report.”