I
Ian Cloke
Guest
Police crackdown on (river) bank raiders
OFFICERS equipped with body armour, batons and handcuffs will be patrolling Fenland river banks in a crackdown on serious fishing crime.
High Impact Fisheries Enforcement officers are being used by the Environment Agency to make arrests and seize illegal equipment.
But Fenland anglers are being warned not to put themselves at risk if they come across fishing crime.
The message to anglers from the Environment Agency is to contact a hotline and not to get involved themselves.
HIFE project executive Steve Moore said: "Illegal activity can crop up wherever people think there's money to be made or corners to be cut."
Prosecutions for serious fishing crimes have more than doubled in the last four years, with 79 cases in 2005/06 resulting in almost ?60,000 in fines and court costs.
Mr Moore said: "The covert nature of some of our surveillance activities means that both training and equipment differ from the norm of fisheries enforcement.
"Making arrests and seizing illegal equipment can present dangerous and difficult challenges.
"Officers involved in fisheries enforcement have reported incidents of abuse and threatening behaviour, some suspects carry knives and, occasionally, we encounter firearms. Issuing protective equipment to specialist, well-trained staff allows them to protect fisheries effectively, whilst keeping the public, offenders and officers safe."
The specialist officers are also being used to reduce tensions between local anglers and eastern European migrants who are illegally keeping their catches to eat rather than returning them to the water.
Fish such as carp, perch and bream, which are considered to be inedible by most anglers are eaten regularly in other countries.
Anglers and clubs are being asked to combat illegal fishing and theft by calling the hotline with information including: Exact location and directions; what is being taken and how; accurate descriptions of people with names, addresses and vehicle registrations if possible; dates and times.
CONTACT: The Environment Agency's 24-hour incident hotline in confidence on 0800 807060.
OFFICERS equipped with body armour, batons and handcuffs will be patrolling Fenland river banks in a crackdown on serious fishing crime.
High Impact Fisheries Enforcement officers are being used by the Environment Agency to make arrests and seize illegal equipment.
But Fenland anglers are being warned not to put themselves at risk if they come across fishing crime.
The message to anglers from the Environment Agency is to contact a hotline and not to get involved themselves.
HIFE project executive Steve Moore said: "Illegal activity can crop up wherever people think there's money to be made or corners to be cut."
Prosecutions for serious fishing crimes have more than doubled in the last four years, with 79 cases in 2005/06 resulting in almost ?60,000 in fines and court costs.
Mr Moore said: "The covert nature of some of our surveillance activities means that both training and equipment differ from the norm of fisheries enforcement.
"Making arrests and seizing illegal equipment can present dangerous and difficult challenges.
"Officers involved in fisheries enforcement have reported incidents of abuse and threatening behaviour, some suspects carry knives and, occasionally, we encounter firearms. Issuing protective equipment to specialist, well-trained staff allows them to protect fisheries effectively, whilst keeping the public, offenders and officers safe."
The specialist officers are also being used to reduce tensions between local anglers and eastern European migrants who are illegally keeping their catches to eat rather than returning them to the water.
Fish such as carp, perch and bream, which are considered to be inedible by most anglers are eaten regularly in other countries.
Anglers and clubs are being asked to combat illegal fishing and theft by calling the hotline with information including: Exact location and directions; what is being taken and how; accurate descriptions of people with names, addresses and vehicle registrations if possible; dates and times.
CONTACT: The Environment Agency's 24-hour incident hotline in confidence on 0800 807060.
