Effective Enforcement

Event Over

If you are interested in a repeat of this event, contact training@iprow.co.uk

Virtual by Microsoft Teams

Compliance of landowners with rights of way law increases when the council does enforcement well, whether through direct action and cost recovery or prosecution. One successful case has a wide reach, but so does ‘getting away with it’. Gathering best evidence is very important and following procedure from first report is crucial for creating a solid case. Is your protocol helping or hindering compliance? Find out how to import good practice on investigation process to your authority.

Offences are usually undeniable so the defence will attack your procedure to avoid admission of guilt. Even authorities who consider their enforcement policy to be strong, have been surprised by how many loopholes officers can create through lack of procedure. A failed case costs the council in resources for no gain and, very importantly, advertises that offenders 'get away with it', which is very poor public service and a failure of the statutory duty, leaving the authority open to formal complaint or judicial review.

However, enforcement relies upon the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act and Police and Criminal Evidence Act, which can be daunting for officers without a police background. This course demystifies the language and rules in relation to a rights of way offence to enable officers to adopt an enforcement policy with more confidence.

Working through a typical example of a case, investigative actions will be considered from the commencement of 'an investigation' from the basic principles of identifying what is a 'scene' and evidence and considering the integrity of the process and Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act (CPIA). Recording the case officer's actions and decision-making and disclosures from others and how to manage the information gathered, whilst continually being mindful of data protection and human rights, will be covered.

Main topics

Criminal Procedure Investigations Act 1996 and the Criminal Procedure Rules 2020
Gathering best evidence
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 code C – Caution and interview process

Key points

Successful action gets results as word spreads
Procedure is crucial because defendant nitpicks procedure when offence undeniable
Consistency of approach whether direct action-cost recovery or prosecution
Build habitual good process, make it automatic for every case

Learning outcomes

Appreciation of the importance of procedure
Awareness of what is needed to implement procedure
Understanding of crucial elements

Level

Intermediate. A working knowledge of rights of way legislation and its practical application is required.

The course is designed for council officers responsible for asserting and protecting public rights of way.

Trainers

Graham Rusling Public Rights of Way and Access Service Manager, Kent County Council has over 30 years' experience in managing public rights of way affected by developments as diverse as the Channel Tunnel Rail link to the change of use of agricultural land to garden.

Mark Hardington of G.M. Hardington Training Consultancy is an experienced investigator from 40 years as an operational detective and investigative skills crime trainer. Specialised in design and delivery of investigation and interviewing skills courses to the police and other investigators in the public and private sectors.

Cost

Members £251, non-members £359 (+VAT)

Software

MS Teams is widely used software within local authorities and other organisations. If you do not already use Teams, you may wish to install Teams for free on your own computer, or you can join using a web browser on any computer. Some features are not available on the latter but it will not prevent your full participation as we may also use Vevox, which is an app you may wish to install on a smartphone, or is available through any web browser.

Terms and conditions

Contract

Acknowlledgement of booking and receipt of purchase order is taken as a binding commitment for attendance at and payment for the event.

IPROW reserves the right to refuse bookings if appropriate to the success of the event.

Terms for payment are no later than 28 days after the event.

See Privacy Notice for how we use booking data.

Member Discount

Member discount applies for people who are a member at the time of booking and on the date of the event.

New members must have completed the membership process no less than two weeks before the event to qualify for discount.

Substitution

A member can substitute for another member without charge.

A member can substitute for a non-member but the discount will not apply if the booking has already been invoiced.

A non-member substituting for a member after the invoice has been raised will incur a charge of £30 for second invoice plus the amount of the discount.

Cancellation

Events are invoiced no more than one month prior to the course, except by special arrangement, such as one purchase order covering multiple event bookings.

Cancellation after the invoice has been raised will remain chargeable in full.

Cancellation prior to an invoice being raised will not incur charge.

If an event should be undersubscribed or a trainer should be unavailable through illness or injury, IPROW reserves the right to cancel the event or postpone to a date agreed with all parties. Fees already paid will be refunded if the event is cancelled or a person booked is not able to attend as a result of postponement.