Following my post on how “trespass” had reared its ugly head at Aviemore (see here), it has done so again in the Scottish Countryside Alliance’s rural crime survey (see here). The survey is due to close this weekend and the SCA states it intends to present the results to the Scottish Parliament before the elections next year.
“Trespass” is included in a list of rural crimes under questions six and and seven. That is a completely wrong as trespass is a civil matter and not a crime, except in a few specified circumstances defined in statute. There is certainly no rural crime of “trespass”. The SCA should know that because last year the Tories included in their election manifesto a commitment to make trespass a crime in England. There would be no justification for that if it already was a crime.
The Scottish Countryside Alliance is not a separately constituted organisation but rather the brand under which the Countryside Alliance operates in Scotland. While it normally has a Regional Director, currently no-one from Scotland holds that role. Instead activity in Scotland appears to be conducted by their Campaigns Team. It may be therefore that a survey designed for England has been simply duplicated without any consideration being given to the statutory rights of access established by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. That is important because a primary reason for the Scottish Parliament passing that Act was to remove any doubt that by crossing or being on land for outdoor recreation people were doing anything wrong – committing a “trespass”.
Whatever the explanation for the SCA issuing this survey, it is still very dangerous:
By misrepresenting the law to their members, the SCA is encouraging some members of rural communities to view other people enjoying the countryside as a threat to their livelihoods, like livestock rustling or the theft of agricultural machinery.
What is more, Question 7 appears to be an attempt to legitimise the idea that the police should be involved in where people can go in the countryside. The question is likely to encourage more people to put up unlawful “No trespasser” signs and then call the police if they see someone on their land. Unfortunately, there will always be some police officers who don’t understand the law (not necessarily their fault), as was illustrated by the two hillwalkers who were charged with Culpable and Reckless Conduct at Crianlarich (see here). The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 was meant to put an end to all of this nonsense but now appears under attack from a number of directions.
There is, however, hope. In England there are now some Tories who are arguing back against the proposals to criminalise trespass there:
This is extremely welcome. There is a similar tradition of Tory thought in Scotland which encouraged some landowners to support the development of our Land Reform legislation. Perhaps Scotland’s Tory MPs will now join Ben Goldsmith and use the example of how access rights have worked here to persuade their colleagues in England to drop their proposals to criminalise trespass? That would help prevent the concept of trespass in the countryside regaining any further legitimacy in Scotland.
A timely post considering a friend’s recent run-in with someone from an Estate near to Lochgilphead in Argyll. Despite the fact they kept to a track (as they had done for years) and were not encroaching on properties or land bordering them, they were told to leave. Since then, signs warning off walkers have been erected in the area. There seems to be a fightback to the Land Reform Act by landowners that has little to do with legitimate concerns. A worrying development and something we should all be concerned with.
Nick MacIneskar
Time to report the landowner’s illegal actions to the local council’s Access Team I would have thought… https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/access-team
Does anyone know if there has been any outcome in the Crianlarich case? If the charge was allowed to stand it will set a dreadful precedent.
I understand the papers were sent to the Procurator Fiscal but nothing has been heard since. They may still be considering whether to proceed with the case but if they drop it there probably won’t be any publicity. A freedom of information request may be required as I suspect the people who were charged may not want the publicity that might follow if they told the world the charges had been dropped.
The Trespass question is certainly very worrying. I always thought that unless one is within the curtilage of a residence then there is no trespass? However, it is the question cunningly placed last, at the botton and seventh – Wildlife Crime. Considering it is their members who are involved in this, mass killing of white hares, raptor persecution in particular hen harriers, but also golden eagles. Other species are also targeted: stoats, weasels. The slaughter on some estates is unremitting, E.G. Glen Esk and around Grandtully. No doubt many others too.
As Wildlife Crime is placed last, no doubt their members will continue to put it last an dthen put it to The Scottish Parliament that it is a very small problem. The RSPB (amongst others) do not think so.
I have been warned twice by police coming to my home not to go onto private land. Did my best to educate the polisman
This was during the photographer=terrorist hysteria in the 2000s
I should love for someone to make up a small ( A4) poster with the approprite wording of Scottish Law regarding trespass. I for one would be happy to carry a few in my pack with me and fix them to appropriate gates.
The CA have simply taken the same old stance on law that everything in England and Wales applies – it does not! We have a completely different law system in Scotland, thankfully, and our Land Reform Act gives us all the right of responsible access in most places. “Trespass” belongs in The Bible not in modern day Scotland.