By Prasun Sonwalkar, IANS
Cambridgeshire (England) : Cambridge, the ancient seat of learning, and its neighbouring areas are reeling under large-scale migration of east Europeans whose conduct, including carrying weapons like knives, and cases of drunken driving, have forced the local police to issue specific guidelines on unacceptable behaviour.
So large has been the scale of migration to Cambridgeshire that the local police service is unable to cope with offences and has asked the Gordon Brown government to allocate more funds to the county.
In a politely worded communication to the government, Julie Spence, chief constable of Cambridgeshire, has noted the benefits of migration but also pointed out that migrant workers are importing their national feuds and criminal behaviour to rural England.
She says that the migrants were arriving with “different standards” from the native population.
After several east European countries joined the EU since 2004, citizens from these countries do not need visas to enter Britain. Citizens of some countries such as Poland do not need permits to work in Britain.
Spence said: “When they arrive they think they can do the same thing as in the country they have come from. There were a lot of people who… because they used to carry knives for protection, think they can carry knives here.
“We have worked with the communities because they don’t necessarily come to commit crime but they need to be told what you can and can’t do. We can identify a significant rise in drink-drive, which was down to people thinking that what they did where they came from they could do here. Their attitudes to drink-drive are probably where we were 20 years ago.”
The local police service has published a document to help new migrants, titled ‘A Newcomer’s Guide to Policing and the Law in Cambridgeshire’. Among other information, the guide lists some examples of unacceptable behaviour:
-People may find it intimidating to be stared, whistled, shouted at or followed.
-It is against the law to use offensive, threatening or abusive words or behaviour.
-It is against the law to assault anyone.
-It is against the law to drop litter.
-It is against the law to vandalise property, e.g., by drawing graffiti on walls.
-Begging is against the law.
-Do not urinate or spit in public.
-Do not touch or fondle people without their permission.
-Do respect others’ personal space.
-Do not make insulting or sexual comments.
-It is against the law to be in possession of knives, gas sprays or weapons of any kind in a public place without a licence or lawful reason – not even for your own protection.
-It is against the law at all times to have a gun without a licence (even for your own protection).
Since 2004, as many as 83,000 east Europeans have registered to work in Cambridgeshire and neighbouring counties. Many more have arrived to join large groups of already-established workers from western EU countries, such as Portugal.
Spence said: “We’ve been short-changed for a number of years, losing money as the population continues to grow. The profile of the county has changed dramatically and this simply isn’t taken into account when government allocates funding.
“We now deal with people from many different countries, speaking more than 90 different languages. While the economic benefits of growth are clear we need to maintain the basic public services infrastructure, which means increasing the number of officers we have.”
The profile of Millfield on the outskirts of Peterborugh, for example, has dramatically changed in recent years. Reports from Peterborough say that the area has been transformed into something approaching a Warsaw suburb.