The path less travelled

At the centre of the Chilmington Gypsy and Traveller site in Kent, two marked Land Rover Discovery police vehicles are parked near a group of uniformed officers laughing and chatting with some of the English Gypsy residents.

Ten years ago, police officers would only enter sites such as this to make an arrest or execute a warrant. They would often be met with hostility and stones thrown at them, catapult attacks and vehicle barricades. More than half of Kent's sites were considered 'no go' areas. That was until Kent Police's rural tactical support group was formed, formerly known as the Gypsy liaison team.

Under orders from the former chief constable Sir David Phillips in 2000, the group was handpicked from the force's tactical support section and tasked with building a rapport with the county's Gypsies, descendants of the Romany, and Travellers, who are often from Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and enabling officers to enforce any Gypsy criminality.

'There was misconception on both sides,' says Ch Supt Paul Brandon, who set up the team as an inspector and is now area commander for north Kent. The lack of understanding and communication displayed by police officers moving Traveller sites in the past brought a lot of adverse publicity. 'Likewise, there was a perception that if police had to deal with a Gypsy or Traveller community they were going to come up against friction.'