Laws Tightened on Illegal Camps

New powers for the Police in England and Wales to act against unauthorised travellers.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 introduced on 28 June 2022, has given police forces  in England and Wales  new powers to act against unauthorised encampments where Travellers set up camp illegally on other people’s land or in local communities.

Police will now be able to ban trespassers from returning to a patch of land for a year rather than three months.

Under the new statutory guidance from the Home Office the harm caused by unauthorised encampments can include excessive littering, noise or smell including from bonfire smoke, local residents being verbally abused or intimidated, communities being unable to access sports fields, parks or car parks and damage to property or land including farmland.