Gypsy and Traveller Experiences of Crime and Justice Since the 1960s: A Mixed Methods Study
Lead Research Organisation:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Department Name: Social Policy
Abstract
Historical accounts show that since the arrival in England and Scotland of Romani Gypsies in the fifteenth century, and of Irish Travellers in the nineteenth century, they have been associated with criminal offending. Since then Gypsies and Travellers (G&Ts) have become entrenched in popular, media and political imaginations as criminal predators, bringing property crime, violence, fraud, tax evasion and anti-social behaviour to settled communities. Yet despite five centuries' of such categorisation, there is surprisingly no rigorous evidence assessing the validity of such claims nor systematic assessments of G&Ts' experiences of victimisation. No existing sources of evidence from self-report offending surveys, archival accounts, oral histories, ethnographic or qualitative research can provide an estimate of G&T patterns of offending. Neither can they tell us about how frequently G&Ts are the victims of non-racially motivated crime (e.g. assault, burglary, theft) or hate crimes. This is particularly concerning given the Global Attitudes Survey found 50% of UK respondents held negative views of G&Ts, over double the proportion holding unfavourable attitudes towards Muslims, who have often been the victims of hate crimes. Estimates of offending, victimisation and hate crime are available for other minority ethnic groups.
This interdisciplinary study will produce the first comprehensive, historicized account of G&T experiences of victimisation, crime and criminal justice in two urban and two rural areas of England. Specifically, it will comprise:
(i) a crime survey involving researchers and G&T interviewers looking at G&T victimisation by personal crime (e.g. assault, hate crime) and crimes against the household/family (e.g. burglary, fraud). It will assess attitudes to, and contact with, the police (including stop and search), courts, probation, and prisons. The survey will also ask questions about G&Ts' use of alcohol/drugs and involvement in property, fraud, and violent offences as offenders. It will survey self-ascribing G&Ts who vary by gender, age and settlement (roadside living, official/private caravan sites, unauthorised encampments, and private/social housing);
(ii) community and prisoner oral histories to investigate whether offending over individual lifetimes is linked to experiences of racism and discrimination, and to explore the effects of actions by the police, courts, probation and prisons on G&T individuals and communities;
(iii) interviews with local professionals who have engaged with G&Ts in a variety of contexts, both operationally and strategically (e.g. police officers, Victim Support, housing officers, councillors, Police and Crime Commissioners). These will seek to find out the ways in which G&Ts and their lifestyles are understood and responded to in formal policies and operationally on the ground, as well as documenting where support services may need to be targeted in criminal justice and other service provision; and
(iv) archival research of governmental and other publically available historical sources, including council committee meeting minutes, county surveys of G&Ts' experience of policing and local petitions against official sites.
Taken together, these methods will provide, for the first time, numerical estimates of both victimisation and offending, whilst also illuminating the meaning attached to them by G&Ts, including the place of perceptions of racism in G&Ts' behaviour and experiences. The study will provide insight into how criminal justice and other statutory agencies have historically dealt with G&Ts compared with the contemporary picture. In this way it will build a sensitive account of G&Ts' experiences of crime as victims as well as offenders which can respond to the negative stereotyping of G&Ts drawing on rigorous evidence. This will inform policy and practice so as to reduce the harms of crime for all those affected, in both G&T and non-G&T communities.
This interdisciplinary study will produce the first comprehensive, historicized account of G&T experiences of victimisation, crime and criminal justice in two urban and two rural areas of England. Specifically, it will comprise:
(i) a crime survey involving researchers and G&T interviewers looking at G&T victimisation by personal crime (e.g. assault, hate crime) and crimes against the household/family (e.g. burglary, fraud). It will assess attitudes to, and contact with, the police (including stop and search), courts, probation, and prisons. The survey will also ask questions about G&Ts' use of alcohol/drugs and involvement in property, fraud, and violent offences as offenders. It will survey self-ascribing G&Ts who vary by gender, age and settlement (roadside living, official/private caravan sites, unauthorised encampments, and private/social housing);
(ii) community and prisoner oral histories to investigate whether offending over individual lifetimes is linked to experiences of racism and discrimination, and to explore the effects of actions by the police, courts, probation and prisons on G&T individuals and communities;
(iii) interviews with local professionals who have engaged with G&Ts in a variety of contexts, both operationally and strategically (e.g. police officers, Victim Support, housing officers, councillors, Police and Crime Commissioners). These will seek to find out the ways in which G&Ts and their lifestyles are understood and responded to in formal policies and operationally on the ground, as well as documenting where support services may need to be targeted in criminal justice and other service provision; and
(iv) archival research of governmental and other publically available historical sources, including council committee meeting minutes, county surveys of G&Ts' experience of policing and local petitions against official sites.
Taken together, these methods will provide, for the first time, numerical estimates of both victimisation and offending, whilst also illuminating the meaning attached to them by G&Ts, including the place of perceptions of racism in G&Ts' behaviour and experiences. The study will provide insight into how criminal justice and other statutory agencies have historically dealt with G&Ts compared with the contemporary picture. In this way it will build a sensitive account of G&Ts' experiences of crime as victims as well as offenders which can respond to the negative stereotyping of G&Ts drawing on rigorous evidence. This will inform policy and practice so as to reduce the harms of crime for all those affected, in both G&T and non-G&T communities.
Planned Impact
The long-term aims of the project are to improve policy-making and daily practice surrounding G&Ts who come into contact with the criminal justice system, both as victims and offenders. In addition, the project is designed to foster greater cross-community understanding and so reduce the isolation and villification of Britain's G&T populations and the negative social consequences associated with such stigmatisation. In order to effect these aims the project team will work with the following stakeholder populations:
a) G&Ts (INCLUDING PRISONERS): At present G&Ts' experiences of crime and victimisation are almost solely shared within G&T communities, and consequently any experiences of victimisation or institutionalised racism, for example, remain hidden from public view. Across its lifetime and beyond, the project's resources are designed to give context, voice and emotion to G&Ts' experiences of crime, as both victims and offenders. Taken together these will provide G&Ts with a body of information which articulates their individual and community experiences and which puts them firmly in the public domain. Here the aim at the broadest level is to build confidence across G&T populations that wider society, the state and statutory agencies understand the relationship between G&Ts' wider life experiences and their experiences of crime and criminal justice. Further, by providing the baseline evidence for the Policy Brief, participating G&Ts have the direct opportunity to voice their concerns and feed into policy development. At the local level, improved training and knowledge of those working with G&Ts on the ground - via the Learning Letters and online resources - will open the way to better working relationships and trust between them and G&T populations, reducing individual and community-level negative experiences with statutory and other agencies.
b) THE WIDER PUBLIC: Most public attitudes towards G&Ts are formed through accessing, very often biased and uninformed, media. The project's freely available, and highly engaging, resources are aimed at looking beyond the G&T communities, to reach the wider population. Here they will act to raise understanding and awareness of, and empathy with, the experiences and treatment of G&Ts, both historically and in the present. This will build knowledge and awareness and so provide a platform for improved cross-community relations.
c) POLICY-MAKERS AND POLITICIANS: At present government policy - whether expressed through the police, court, probation, or prison systems - lacks robust evidence to underpin its approach to G&Ts. The project will engage directly with policymakers through providing robust and clear baseline data from which they, and non-statutory agencies, can design more inclusive policies, develop appropriate staff training, and implement appropriate guidelines for those working with G&Ts within the criminal justice systems. This intervention will open the door to better informed policy decision-making, and in the long-term build trust with G&T populations that their needs and perspectives are taken into account. Further, the workshop at the parliamentary event opens the possibility for closer long-term partnership-working between workshop participants, including the Ministry of Justice's Race & Ethnicity Board.
d) LOCAL THIRD AND PUBLIC SECTOR: Many third sector workers have wide and deep knowledge of the G&T populations with whom they work. However, they often lack the capacity to develop resources and extend their knowledge beyond their particular organisation. The project will provide them with multi-media and text resources to enable best practice within and between agencies, and hence build capacity. Further, the non-expert crime survey offers the possibility for localities to expand their own knowledge base after the project has ended, offering the potential for the development of locally appropriate, evidence-based service and resource provision.
a) G&Ts (INCLUDING PRISONERS): At present G&Ts' experiences of crime and victimisation are almost solely shared within G&T communities, and consequently any experiences of victimisation or institutionalised racism, for example, remain hidden from public view. Across its lifetime and beyond, the project's resources are designed to give context, voice and emotion to G&Ts' experiences of crime, as both victims and offenders. Taken together these will provide G&Ts with a body of information which articulates their individual and community experiences and which puts them firmly in the public domain. Here the aim at the broadest level is to build confidence across G&T populations that wider society, the state and statutory agencies understand the relationship between G&Ts' wider life experiences and their experiences of crime and criminal justice. Further, by providing the baseline evidence for the Policy Brief, participating G&Ts have the direct opportunity to voice their concerns and feed into policy development. At the local level, improved training and knowledge of those working with G&Ts on the ground - via the Learning Letters and online resources - will open the way to better working relationships and trust between them and G&T populations, reducing individual and community-level negative experiences with statutory and other agencies.
b) THE WIDER PUBLIC: Most public attitudes towards G&Ts are formed through accessing, very often biased and uninformed, media. The project's freely available, and highly engaging, resources are aimed at looking beyond the G&T communities, to reach the wider population. Here they will act to raise understanding and awareness of, and empathy with, the experiences and treatment of G&Ts, both historically and in the present. This will build knowledge and awareness and so provide a platform for improved cross-community relations.
c) POLICY-MAKERS AND POLITICIANS: At present government policy - whether expressed through the police, court, probation, or prison systems - lacks robust evidence to underpin its approach to G&Ts. The project will engage directly with policymakers through providing robust and clear baseline data from which they, and non-statutory agencies, can design more inclusive policies, develop appropriate staff training, and implement appropriate guidelines for those working with G&Ts within the criminal justice systems. This intervention will open the door to better informed policy decision-making, and in the long-term build trust with G&T populations that their needs and perspectives are taken into account. Further, the workshop at the parliamentary event opens the possibility for closer long-term partnership-working between workshop participants, including the Ministry of Justice's Race & Ethnicity Board.
d) LOCAL THIRD AND PUBLIC SECTOR: Many third sector workers have wide and deep knowledge of the G&T populations with whom they work. However, they often lack the capacity to develop resources and extend their knowledge beyond their particular organisation. The project will provide them with multi-media and text resources to enable best practice within and between agencies, and hence build capacity. Further, the non-expert crime survey offers the possibility for localities to expand their own knowledge base after the project has ended, offering the potential for the development of locally appropriate, evidence-based service and resource provision.
Publications
James Z
(2022)
Roma, Gypsies, and Travellers As a Community of Difference: Challenging Inclusivity As an Anti-racist Approach
in Critical Romani Studies
Taylor B
(2021)
What field? Where? Bringing Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History into View
in Cultural and Social History
Taylor B
(2021)
What field? Where? Bringing Gypsy, Roma and Traveller History into View
in Cultural and Social History
Hinks, J.
(2022)
Hampshire's Gypsy rehabilitation centres: welfare and assimilation in mid-twentieth century Britain
in History Workshop Journal
Taylor, B
Intermittent Citizens. Scotland's Travellers, Welfare and the Shifting Boundary of State and Voluntary Action in the Early Twentieth-Century
in Journal of British Studies
James Z
(2020)
Gypsies' and Travellers' lived experience of harm: A critical hate studies perspective
in Theoretical Criminology
James Z
(2023)
The Routledge International Handbook on Decolonizing Justice
Description | There is now some archival analysis of Gypsy/Traveller-settled community relations. They are contained in the journal articles but have not, as yet, been incorporated into the analysis of the other data collection strands which are still ongoing. |
Exploitation Route | One of the paper sets out the 'state of the field' and offers pointers for those beginning historical research with this group |
Sectors | Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Description | Catch 22 Training |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Title | Crime Survey for Gypsies and Travellers |
Description | Compilation of crime victimisation and self-report offending survey with additiona questions from the Everyday Discrimination Scale |
Type Of Material | Model of mechanisms or symptoms - human |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | None |
Description | Working with Gypsy and Traveller Third Sector organisations: Friends Families Travellers |
Organisation | Friends, Families and Travellers |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Current criminal justice issues and research possibilities for South-East site |
Collaborator Contribution | Discussion of access possibilities, provision of contacts |
Impact | Meetings in February 21, September 2020, January 2020 |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Working with Gypsy and Traveller Third Sector organisations: LeedsGATE (2020 - Still Active) |
Organisation | Leeds Gypsy and Traveller Exchange (Leeds GATE) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Current criminal justice issues and research possibilities for Leeds area, piloting of crime survey |
Collaborator Contribution | Finding volunteers for crime survey pilot Discussion of access possibilities, provision of contacts |
Impact | Meetings in March 2020, September 2020 |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Working with Gypsy and Traveller Third Sector organisations: TravellerSpace |
Organisation | TravellerSpace |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Current criminal justice issues and research possibilities for Devon and Cornwall |
Collaborator Contribution | Discussion of access possibilities, provision of contacts |
Impact | Phone meetings and email exchanges |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Working with the charity the Historical Association |
Organisation | Historical Association |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | Co-I Becky Taylor has been collaborating with the HA to create a series of resources relating to the history of Britain's UK Gypsy and Traveller population, including a podcast and a set of background notes and teaching materials. |
Collaborator Contribution | n/a |
Impact | In progress (March 2021) - podcast; resource pack |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Embedding GRT in KS3 History |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Engagement with team putting together a new KS3 textbook Susanna Boyd et al, Social History, c.1920-2000. A New Focus on Experiences of Disability, Sexuality, Gender and Ethnicity. KS3 Education (Hodder Education, 2023). Substantive archival material, advice and historical interpretation included in text book as a result. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Equalities, Interventions and Operational Practice Group (HMPPS) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | AwayDay talk to Equalities, Interventions and Operational Practice Group (HMPPS) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | GRT: History GCSE textbook changes |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Advice given to Pearson Edexcel History over GCSE content - use of correct terminology for Roma and Sinti for Weimar and Nazi Germany option; and providing advice and input on inclusion of Romani Gypsies and Irish Travellers for GCSE Migration module (Dec/Jan 2022/3). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Gypsy Roma Traveller Online Teaching Resources |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Series of online teaching resources produced in collaboration with the Historical Association, supported by a seminar with teachers and a launch at the Historical Association's annual conference (2022) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.history.org.uk/secondary/categories/606/module/8794/do-gypsy-roma-and-traveller-children... |
Description | Gypsy Traveller History in Britain |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Historical Association podcast for use with schools |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Gypsy and Traveller Experiences of Crime and Justice Since the 1960s: A neglected minority in criminology |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Article highlighting new research to criminological audience |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.britsoccrim.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/BSCN84-Gypsy-and-Traveller-Experiences-of-Cri... |
Description | Interview - LSE Research Magazine |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Description of research study |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.lse.ac.uk/research/research-for-the-world/society/crime-and-punishment |
Description | Just About . . . Gypsy, Roma and Traveller People and Criminal Justice |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Panel on race and criminal justice research |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | NEW RESEARCH PROJECT EXPLORES THE REALITIES OF LIFE FOR GYPSIES AND TRAVELLERS |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
Results and Impact | Early findings from the archival work examining individual, collective and institutional prejudice targeting Gypsies and Travellers. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.travellerstimes.org.uk/features/new-research-project-explores-realities-life-gypsies-and... |
Description | Rural Media Village Pub Conversation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interview (Phillips, Taylor) as part of programme in response to the Channel 4 Dispatches programme 'The Truth About Traveller Crime') |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Talk for Norwich Labour Party |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | I delivered a talk for Norwich Labour Party on the history of Britain's Gypsies and Travellers, their relationship with the Left, with policy developments, and with wider society |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Talk for Peterborough Fabian Society |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I delivered a talk for Norwich Labour Party on the history of Britain's Gypsies and Travellers, their relationship with the Left, with policy developments, and with wider society |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Talk for Stamford Anti-Racism Group |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Talk to Stamford Anti-Racism Group |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Teaching Race Matters: Romani Gypsies |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Podcast as part of the Runnymede Trust's Teaching Race Matters series, exploring the history and pedagogical issues surrounding the presence of Romani Gypsies in early modern Britain. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://rss.com/podcasts/teachingracematters/ |
Description | Watch the crime rate go up over the weekend |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Blog on controversial Channel 4 programme |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |