HSA news release 19th January 2003
Chucking taxpayers' money down the pan...
We are continuing to highlight the extraordinary relationships between the police and foxhunts in Surrey, as new information comes to light...
On 3 separate occasions in January (2003), police officers from Surrey have offered financial inducements to animal rights campaigners in return for information on the identities, intentions and movements of Hunt Saboteurs in the county.
Offers of money come at a time when Surrey police are practically throwing money down the toilet pan in their efforts to curtail opposition to the 2 beleaguered hunts in the county, whilst at the same time explaining that they are unable to attend 'low priority' incidents and crimes due to lack of resources!! It coincides with a new chief constable, and a force attitude that seems to shout 'Too biased to change, Too arrogant to care' although they know that wouldn't look too clever inscribed on the side of a police car!
The laughable fact is that the police could find almost all this out for free if they stopped treating sabs like dirt and abandon the aggravated trespass laws they started using at the behest of the hunts this year (after 10 years of relatively trouble free policing!).
In previous times, it was expedient for local sabs to let hunt liaison officers know numbers that would be out at hunts in Surrey - if something had happened to warrant a larger attendance (i.e. a sab being beaten up) they were told so they could stop things escalating. In return, the police response was generally proportionate and pragmatic involving hunt sabs' activities. Now however, relations are at an all time low. Police don't know whether there will be 2 or 20 sabs out, or what will happen if the hunt attack sabs as they did before Christmas at Newdigate. They are having to field at least 20 officers each time a hunt is out, and the hunt liaison officer positions are a joke, a more apt title would be hunt support officers.
Some previous Surrey officers given the hot potato of policing foxhunts have used their skills at calming situations at hunts, standing up to hunt pressure and funny handshakes and thereby reducing police costs as stepping stones to higher office (are you reading this at the Chief Supt's Assn?!). In the current situation, throwing taxpayers' money on a bonfire would be as useful!
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