annual report 2010

Printed on recycled paper

Front Cover: Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk, by Alan Roberts

56715 Designed and Printed by North Wales PoliceTelephone: 01492 804941

www.nwcu.police.uk 1

UK National Wildlife Crime Unit - Annual Report 2010

Chief Constable’sForeword

During the past 12 months I have had theprivilege of holding national responsibilityfor wildlife crime on behalf of theAssociation of Chief Police Officers(ACPO). It has been a steep learning curvefor me and much of that learning has beeninformed by my colleagues in the NationalWildlife Crime Unit (NWCU). Althoughfew in number, their contributions tonational and international wildlifecrime enforcement issues has been verysignificant and they enjoy the raredistinction of knowing that they havemade a real difference to the naturalworld that so many of us enjoy. In thefollowing pages you will read aboutsome of that groundbreaking work. Itranges from localised issues relating towelfare and conservation, through tocriminality of a serious and organisednature and ultimately, to a hugeinternational operation concerning theillegal trade in endangered species. e staffat the unit deserve great praise for theirwork which is more oen than not done indirect support of individual forces. It is alsofrequently done in the full glare of themedia spotlight as this type of criminalityis of huge interest to the general public.

ey do not, however, do the work alone.We can only tackle wildlife crime if wework together and during this year I havewitnessed some truly fantastic partnershipworking. is has been displayed at anational level through the support of theUK and Scottish Governments; throughthe professional commitment of a rangeof agencies, and most importantly,through the support and expert advice ofmany nongovernmental and voluntaryorganisations.

As co-chair of PAW, the UK Partnershipfor Action against Wildlife crime, Icommend this report and the work of theunit to you. It amply demonstrates that thevery modest funds put to this purposemake a very significant difference in thisimportant area of work.

Richard P D CromptonBA (Hons); MA (Econ)Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police

Executive Summary

e NWCU are involved in a multi-agency approach for the investigation ofwildlife crime in the UK. As the conduitfor information sharing, the NWCU playsa vital role - offering a one-stop shop foragencies involved in the fight againstwildlife crime. e NWCU is the only unitin the UK that fulfils this role and ithas allowed the UK to gain an enviableworldwide reputation for the coordinatedand cohesive manner in which it combatswildlife crime.

In the last year, the NWCU have beeninvolved in investigations which haveresulted in the seizure/forfeit of more than£400,000 worth of criminal gains. Anumber of serious and organised crimegroups have also come to the notice ofthe NWCU via pro-active intelligencegathering. is work has generatedsignificant enquiries across the UK, linkingto active investigations abroad. All this

work has highlighted the vast scale andsignificance of wildlife operations acrossthe UK and further afield. Some of thesuccessful results have included:

� e first ever Serious Crime PreventionOrder for wildlife crime and eightmonths imprisonment for offencescontrary to Control of trade inEndangered Species (COTES)Enforcement Regulations 1997

� 10 months imprisonment for offencesunder the Customs and ExciseManagement Act (CEMA) andCOTES regulations

� Eight weeks imprisonment forpossessing a wild goshawk, makingfalse representation to register the birdand making false statements to obtainnew paperwork

� 44 weeks imprisonment (suspended for18 months) and 200 hours of unpaidwork for offences relating to the tradein skulls and taxidermy of speciesprotected by the Convention onInternational Trade in EndangeredSpecies (CITES)

� 16 week suspended sentence, increasedto an immediate eight week custodialsentence at appeal for offences contraryto the Wildlife & Countryside Act(WCA) 1981 (relating to the sale andpossession of wild birds)

� 12 months community order, 16 weekcurfew, forfeiture of sparrowhawks,£80 costs and £50 fine for breachingbail for possession of wild taken birdsunder WCA 1981 and prohibitedpurchase contrary to COTES 1997

� 12 month conditional discharge, £85costs and forfeiture of the bird forcharges of keeping an unregisteredgoshawk

� Seizure of traditional medicines worthan estimated £9 million

Richard P D Crompton

2


� £10,760 costs, 18 month conditionaldischarge and banned from keepingbirds for 12 months for possessing wildbirds and causing unnecessary suffering

� £2,107 confiscation order and £1,500costs for offences under COTESregulations and smuggling chargesrelating to the unlawful importation ofbirds’ eggs

� £1,000 fine and £115 costs forprohibited keeping Annex A1 speciesfor sale

� £600 fine and forfeiture of a barn owlfor two offences of prohibited sale ofAnnex A species

� £400 and loss of job for shooting abuzzard

� £350 fine, £95 costs and destruction ofcaviar for offences under the COTESRegulations 1997, relating to the sale ofillegally imported caviar

ere have been 3477 intelligence logsprocessed at the NWCU this year alone -almost the same amount that wereprocessed in the two previous years addedtogether. e unit also processed nearly10,000 incidents, compared to just 3832 in2008/09. e unit also doubled theamount of intelligence collections it made;conducted 14 times more database checksand was asked for five times more analyticalproducts. In addition, the unit has morethan doubled the amount of actions itprocessed this year and seven moreagencies have signed up to formally sharedata with NWCU.

e last year has also seen the unit useprudent financial planning and partnershipfunding to increase its staffing levels. Jointfunding from the Association of ChiefPolice Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) andPAW Scotland was awarded for the firstever Scottish Investigative Support Officer

(ISO). Partnership funding2 also allowedthe unit to appoint the first ever poachingproject officer for England & Wales andfinally, the NWCU was able to enhance itsprovision of services via the developmentof a researcher.

If the NWCU can secure funding for thenext three years it will be able to embarkupon a number of international enquiriesof significance which will invoke theproceeds of crime act. In this way, theNWCU will seek to target the enormousmonetary gain that offenders are makingfrom their involvements in the illegal tradein wildlife.

Purpose of the NWCUe primary role of the NWCU is to assistin the prevention and detection of wildlifecrime. It does this by obtaining anddisseminating intelligence from a widerange of organisations, by undertakinganalysis which highlights local or nationalthreats and by directly assisting lawenforcement agencies in wildlife crimeinvestigations. e NWCU reports to ahigh-level UK tasking and coordinatinggroup and is the gateway between all of theagencies, domestically and internationally,that:

� have a legal obligation to deal withwildlife crime

� have an interest in dealing with wildlifecrime, or

� hold information/intelligence relatingto wildlife crime

UK WildlifeCrime Prioritiesis report documents the fact that crimesagainst wildlife are widespread, numerousand varied. However, the NWCU haslimited resources and, accordingly, hasto rigorously focus its efforts to gainmaximum impact. e NWCU istherefore informed by an annual liaisonmeeting (the Wildlife Law EnforcementWorking Group) with the StatutoryNature Conservation Organisations(SNCOs3), other agencies4 and relevantNon Government Organisations (NGOs5)as to those offences which have greatestimpact on UK and global wildlife.Together with reports from police forces asto concerns over volumes of wildlife crime,these enable the selection of priority areasfor the NWCU to focus on. e sixcurrent priority areas (as shown below6) arereviewed every second year.

1. Badger Persecution

2. Bat Persecution

3. CITES issues (specifically trade incaviar, ivory, ramin, tortoises andtraditional medicines)

4. Freshwater Pearl Mussels

5. Poaching (including deer and fishpoaching and hare coursing)

6. Raptor Persecution (especially goldeneagle, white-tailed eagle, red kite, henharrier and goshawk)

All the priority areas have implementationplans with plan owners and leads identifiedfor the prevention and enforcement ofcrimes. Other areas may also be identifiedas priorities for the gathering ofintelligence. In 2009/10 these include:orchids, eels, finch trapping and eggcollecting.

1Listed on Annex A of the European Community (EC) CITES Regulations.2Funded by the Environment Agency, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) and the Deer Initiative through the PAW coalition.3Countryside Council for Wales, Environment Agency Northern Ireland, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage.4Environment Agency, Marine Fisheries Agency, Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew). 5Bat Conservation Trust, Plantlife, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, TRAFFIC.6Listed in alphabetical order, not by measurement of importance.

www.nwcu.police.uk

e cohesive alliance between the RSPCA andthe NWCU as policing partners, provides afoundation for improved intervention in tacklinganimal related crime.

Mark Martin, RSPCA

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Making a difference

Value of assets seized in criminal cases7

In the last year, the NWCU have been directly involved in many investigations which havecollectively resulted in the seizure or forfeit of more than £400,000 worth of criminal gains,as shown in the table below:

It is evident from the value of assets seized in those criminal cases the NWCU were directlyinvolved in during 2009/10 (over £400,000) that wildlife is a highly valuable natural assetwhich is being profoundly exploited by the criminal fraternity. A selection of recent cases aredescribed in the following pages.


Result Date Issue/Species Value Seized

Seized (Case ongoing) Ongoing Cross compliance investigations with RPA £160,000Seized (Case ongoing) Ongoing Going equipped for the £106,000Forfeited by retail owners February, 2010 Traditional medicines £50,000Seized (Case ongoing) Ongoing Birds of prey £18,000Seized (Case ongoing) Ongoing Birds eggs £15,000Seized (Case ongoing) Ongoing Primates and mammals £12,000Seized (Case ongoing) Ongoing Birds of prey £10,000Seized (Case ongoing) Ongoing Birds eggs £7,000Seized (Case ongoing) Ongoing Lemurs £6,900Seized (Case ongoing) Ongoing Goshawks £6,000Seized and forfeited July, 2009 Traditional medicines £5,000Forfeited April, 2010 Skulls and taxidermy species £3,500Seized (Case ongoing) Ongoing Taxidermy species £2,155Seized (Case ongoing) Ongoing Tortoises £1,500Seized (Case ongoing) Ongoing Taxidermy species £1,500Seized and forfeited July, 2009 Lemur £1,400Forfeited September, 2009 Goshawk £1,000Forfeited July, 2009 Red-backed shrikes £1,000Forfeited November, 2009 Goshawk £800Forfeited February, 2010 Caviar £500Seized and forfeited September, 2009 Birds of prey £500Seized and forfeited November, 2009 Finches £250Seized (Case ongoing) Ongoing Peregrine falcon £200Seized and forfeited July, 2009 Barn owls £200Seized (Case ongoing) Ongoing Owls £200TOTAL £410,605

Devon and Cornwall Police have utilised theservices of the NWCU ISO’s and intelligenceunit during the investigation of wildlife offencesand execution of warrants. e assistance of theNWCU has been invaluable and has beenreadily provided lending a greater degree ofprofessionalism in this sphere of criminality.

Dave KnightDevon & Cornwall Police

“ “7Only includes items actually uplied/seized subject of PACE (where court proceeding are on going).Does not include seizures in cases that resulted in cautions or where specimens were retained by the offender at the conclusion of proceedings.

www.nwcu.police.uk4


Annex A Species - Barn Owls

Derek Shaylor of Kidderminster appearedin court on 7th August 2009 charged withtwo offences of prohibited sale of AnnexA species (barn owls). Intelligence hadsuggested that Shaylor was offering owlsand other raptors for sale on the internetwithout the appropriate paperwork. Hepromised prospective buyers that the birdswere legal and that article 10 certificates(A10s) would follow. Checks with AnimalHealth confirmed that neither Shaylornor any of the birds had been issued withvalid permits. On 15th June 2009, theNWCU, the RSPB9 and West Merciapolice executed a search warrant atShaylor’s home address. Shaylor wasarrested and interviewed. He admittedselling the two barn owls without thenecessary A10 certificates. An NWCUISO was intensely involved in the case,through the development of intelligence,assisting with operational planning,execution of search warrants, interviewingthe offender, conducting follow-upenquiries, taking statements, preparing filesand providing guidance to the CrownProsecution Service (CPS). Shaylorpleaded guilty to all charges and was fined£200 for each offence (total £600).Magistrates also ordered the forfeit of afemale barn owl (pictured) that was still inhis possession.

8Goshawk is listed on Schedule 4 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) and therefore birds must be ringed and registered with Animal Health if kept in captivity.9Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

Raptor Persecution

Wild Taken Goshawks

In November 2008 officers from NWCU,Cheshire police and Animal Health visitedJohn Simcox’s home address to conduct anunannounced examination of a number ofsuspected wild taken goshawks. isinspection followed on from suspicionsraised when Simcox reported that amicrochip he had fitted in a femalegoshawk had failed. Enquiries laterrevealed that the likelihood of a microchipfailing are one in 600,000. Samples weretaken from the female goshawk and itsclaimed offspring which he had previouslysold to another keeper. DNA analysisproved that the birds could not be related.

Additionally there was evidence to suggestthat Simcox had switched his aging birdwith a younger one and that he misledauthorities to register the new goshawk.Simcox was charged with possessing a wildgoshawk, making false representation toregister the bird8 and making falsestatements to obtain new paperwork. On

Wild Taken Goshawks

Photo supplied by Cheshire Police

Goshawk

Photo by Andy McWilliam

e NWCU is proving effective in assisting police forces tackle crimes against wildlife herein the UK and overseas. It is essential that the NWCU is adequately resourced if we are tosee progress made against the UK wildlife crime priorities, and securing the NWCU's futuremust be a priority for Dea and the Home Office. We look forward to working closely withNWCU colleagues to achieve a meaning ful reduction in crimes against birds of preythrough the raptor persecution priority.

David Hoccom, Acting Head of Investigations, RSPB“ “

9th September 2009 John Simcox wassentenced to eight weeks imprisonment forpossession of a wild goshawk and wasbanned from keeping Schedule 4 birds forfive years. e NWCU ISO and Cheshire’swildlife crime coordinator, who were heavilyinvolved in the case appeared on BBC TV’s‘e One Show’ on 2nd November 2009.

Unregistered Goshawk

On 12 November 2009, Joseph Fitzpatrickof Liverpool appeared in court chargedwith keeping an unregistered goshawk.Prior to this, in October 2009, Merseysidepolice and the NWCU executed a searchwarrant at Fitzpatrick’s home. ey foundan unregistered goshawk, which headmitted he had owned for several months.Fitzpatrick also admitted that he hadpreviously received a warning letter fromAnimal Health for failing to register agoshawk, which he had ignored. He wasarrested and charged. On his firstappearance he pleaded guilty to the offenceand was given a 12 month conditionaldischarge and ordered to pay £85 costs.e goshawk (pictured) was forfeited. Barn Owl



Wilkinson. Officers seized four youngsparrowhawks, in circumstances whichstrongly suggested these were wild-takenbirds. Wilkinson claimed he purchased thebirds without the required A10’s. NWCUassisted in Wilkinson’s arrest and interviewand he was charged with possession of thebirds under WCA 1981 and prohibitedpurchase of an Annex A specimen(contrary to COTES 1997). He pleadedguilty to all the offences and was given a 12month community order and a 16 weekcurfew. e birds were all forfeited. He wasalso ordered to pay £80 costs and £50 forbreaching bail.

Poisoned Buzzard

Following the recovery of a poisonedbuzzard in August 2009, the Scottish ISOwas dispatched by the Tayside policewildlife crime coordinator to check apheasant pen from where he recovered thepoisoned bait that had killed the buzzard(a pheasant poult). e resulting operationin Tayside, where the gamekeeper (GrahamKerr from Longforgan) was questioned,led to the recovery of illegal pesticide onhis possession, and a shot buzzard in therear of his vehicle. Kerr also admitted tokilling and burying a buzzard 12 monthspreviously. He pleaded guilty in court andwas fined £400 for shooting the buzzardand admonished for possession ofpesticide. Following the conviction hisemployment was also terminated.

Wild Taken Birds

In July 2008 NWCU, South Yorkshirepolice and the RSPCA10 executed a searchwarrant on an address in Rotherham. Anumber of rare red-backed shrikes andstonechats were seized. Protractedenquiries were made and a man wassummoned for offences relating to the saleand possession of wild birds. e birds arebelieved to have been trapped in Franceand brought into the UK on false papers.An NWCU ISO assisted with operationalplanning, executing search warrants,interviewing the offender, preparing files,undertaking various enquiries around the

UK, tracing the issues of bird rings andgiving evidence in court. Sean Fitzpatrickwas convicted in July 2009 of offencescontrary to the WCA 1981. He was givena 16 week suspended sentence, althoughthis was increased to an immediate eightweek custodial sentence at his appealhearing.

Sparrowhawk Conviction

In September 2009, as a result ofintelligence developed by the NWCU,Staffordshire police (supported byNWCU officers) executed a searchwarrant at the home address of Paul

10Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.


Sparrowhawk


e fact is the NWCU has matured into a pro-active organisation which is managingintelligence and identifying intelligence requirements both regionally and nationally insupport of identified priorities. As time has progressed the unit is delivering more and morein respect of ‘taskable’ material being presented for action, and this is ultimately reflected inan increasing number of successful operations. In particular, credit is due in respect of thoseproducing intelligence products; to the ISO’s for the additional expertise, energy and capacitythey provide, and not least to the improvements in structure and product which havecemented NWCU’s relationship with forces and the Scottish TCG.

Superintendent Alan SmailesWildlife Crime Co-ordinator for Grampian Policeand Chair of the Scottish Tactical Tasking andCoordinating Group (TCG) for Wildlife Crime

“ “I was grateful for the support and presence of theNWCU while interviewing a number ofcompany directors during a large environmentalcrime enquiry. eir contribution, expertise andreassurance were invaluable.

PC Samantha BriggsStrathclyde Police

“ “

www.nwcu.police.uk6


Wild Taken Finches

Acting on intelligence, in February 2009,NWCU and RSPB assisted Northumbriapolice to execute a search warrant at thehome address of John McGough. Officersseized finches, including two bramblingsand a siskin, which were found to be wildtaken birds fitted with tampered leg rings.McGough was arrested and chargedwith possessing wild birds and causingunnecessary suffering. A trial date was fixedfor 16th February 2010; howeverMcGough pleaded guilty at the lastminute. NWCU assisted with operationalsupport during the search, providedwitness evidence and attended courtproceedings. McGough was given an 18month conditional discharge, was bannedfrom keeping birds for 12 months and wasordered to pay £10,760 costs.

Poaching

Operation Hallend

NWCU assisted with warrants in Sussex inDecember 2009 that were served on theaddresses of a suspected deer poachinggang. Over 30 weapons were seized(including air weapons, crossbows,shotguns and rifles). A number of deercarcasses were seized and four men werearrested. ree of the suspects have nowbeen charged with offences in relation tothe Deer Act; shooting during hours ofdarkness; hunting with a crossbow;possession of section 1 ammunition andoffences regarding the storage of weapons.e Detective Inspector in charge of theenforcement action said “in the immediateaermath of the operation we learnt thatother rural based criminal enterprises shutdown for a period through fear of being nexton the list. We also had overwhelmingsupport and positive feedback om the ruralcommunity.”

CITES cases

Skulls and Taxidermy

Graham and Norah Pitchforth ofWakefield, West Yorkshire were arrested inDecember 2006 by West Yorkshire police.is was initiated through NWCUand UK Border Agency (UKBA)intelligence. Property recovered fromthe address included numerous skulls,dried bats/insects and taxidermy items. Itbecame apparent that they had beenimporting CITES items (from Indonesiaand South Africa) without permits andthere was clear evidence of large scale tradeon the internet (particularly eBay). ePitchforth’s were quite prepared to tradeanywhere in the world and did not complywith the CITES requirements for trade inand out of the EU. Species involvedincluded valuable specimens of Indonesianand African animals and birds (e.g.monkeys, flying foxes, African lion,hornbills and birds of prey). Europeanspecies, including otter, birds of prey and

Monkey skulls

Photo supplied by West Yorkshire Police

owls, were also included in the charges.NWCU prepared two reports in referenceto the offences and were involved in thedecision making process, leading thedirection of the case and advising counsel.NWCU officers also provided supportduring the interview of the suspects. ePitchforth’s were charged with 51 offencesrelating to the trade in skulls and taxidermyof species protected by CITES. eyappeared at Leeds Crown Court on 1stMarch 2010 and pleaded guilty to 24offences each. Both were sentenced to 44weeks imprisonment (suspended for 18months) and 200 hours of unpaid work.

Operation Carapace

An extremely significant prosecution tookplace this year resulting in the issuing of thefirst ever Serious Crime Prevention Orderfor wildlife crime. On 14th May 2009,David Johnson, a reptile dealer fromShropshire, was sentenced to eight monthsimprisonment for eight offences contrary

Operation Hallend enhanced our flow of intelligence regarding rural crime; I can onlyassume that people trusted that we would act. As a result we have conducted similaroperations resulting in the seizure of stolen vehicles and other unlawfully held firearms.Since the operation we did get a few reports of poaching but that has tailed off tonegligible.

DI Ian Williams, Sussex police“ “As the recently appointed wildlife andenvironmental crime co-ordinator for Fife it washugely beneficial to have a resource whoseknowledge and experience was only matchedby its enthusiasm and willingness to help.e requirement to contact them does not seemto diminish with the passage of time and thestandard of the assistance offered is always firstclass.

Ian LaingWildlife and EnvironmentalCrime Co-ordinator, Fife

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11Listed on Annex A of the EC CITES Regulations.

to COTES (Enforcement) Regulations1997. e charges related to the prohibitedsale of 197 Annex A tortoises, theprohibited purchase of 200 Hermann’stortoises and making false statements toobtain A10 certificates. Whilst on policebail Johnson purchased a further 200Hermann’s on invalid Slovenian permitsand then sold them on without A10s. eJudge later stated that this deliberateoffending whilst on bail sealed hissentence. e Judge has also orderedan inquiry under the Proceeds of CrimeAct. In interviews Johnson said that‘conservation was not his concern and thathe was in it for the money’. On 23rd March2009 Johnson pleaded guilty to all charges.Sentencing Johnson, His Honour JudgeOnions said “this is serious crime and theyare matters of worldwide concern.” He toldJohnson that as a professional trader“conservation was his concern” and that“he had a duty to know the law.” eSerious Crime Prevention Order, which isthe first for a wildlife offence, prohibitsJohnson from possessing any Annex Aspecimens for three years. e purpose ofthe order is to prevent reoffending andany breach could result in an immediateprison sentence. NWCU officers played asignificant role in this case, through thedevelopment of the intelligence, planningthe operation, producing the business case,executing the search warrant, interviewingthe offender, conducting all follow-upenquiries and taking statements, examiningdocumentary evidence and computerrecords, undertaking file preparation andgiving guidance to CPS. e Judge praisedthe manner in which the case waspresented.

Leopard Bone Case

On 22nd July 2009 officers fromNWCU, UKBA, Animal Health, GreaterManchester police and North Wales policeexecuted a search warrant at the ChineseMedical Centre, Manchester. Officersseized a large quantity of CITES protectedspecies both in the raw form and as part ofmanufactured remedies. Products seizedincluded 112 packs, each containingfour plasters, which had leopard bonelisted in the ingredients. e sale ofanything containing derivatives of leopardis prohibited11, unless. there is a validexemption certificate (A10) in place. Nosuch certificates have been issued forleopard bone plasters. Mr Liu, a Chineseherbalist, was arrested and interviewed bypolice and NWCU officers. Liu admittedhe had bought the plasters in China. Heclaimed it was only when he returned tothe UK that he realised that leopard bonewas included in the ingredients. He wascharged with ‘prohibited keeping Annex Aspecies for sale’ and on 22nd November2009, Liu pleaded guilty. He was fined£1,000 and ordered to pay £115 costs.Magistrates said they took offencesinvolving the trade in endangered speciesextremely seriously, but they took intoaccount his early guilty plea and the factthat he had shown remorse for the offences.

Tortoise Enquiry

Aer the development of intelligence atthe NWCU, in September 2009 NWCUassisted Cumbria police execute a searchwarrant at Carlisle Tortoises. e ownerwas arrested and charged with eightoffences relating to the prohibited sale of


Annex A tortoises and another offence offraud. NWCU assisted in the executionof the search warrant, the interview ofthe suspect, follow-up enquiries, filepreparation and CPS guidance and thesuspect has now been committed toCarlisle Crown Court.

Caviar Offences

Aer the development of intelligence atthe NWCU, on 17th February 2010,Nataljia Grinova appeared beforemagistrates charged with offences underthe COTES Regulations 1997, relating tothe sale of illegally imported sturgeoncaviar.

Aer the development of intelligenceat the NWCU, on 17th February 2010,Nataljia Grinova appeared beforemagistrates charged with offences underthe COTES Regulations 1997, relating tothe sale of illegally imported sturgeoncaviar. In December 2009 a jointinvestigation by NWCU, UKBA andMerseyside police identified a person inLiverpool offering jars of ‘Genuine RussianSturgeon Caviar’ for sale on eBay.Enquiries with eBay identified the seller asGrinova yet Animal Health had no recordof her applying for import permits. WithNWCU assistance, Grinova was arrestedand interviewed. She freely admittedimporting the caviar from Ukraine withoutimport permits and then selling it on eBay.

Caviar


Hertfordshire Police remains one of those forces without a full time wildlife andenvironmental crime officer and finding the time to work on wildlife matters can oen bedifficult, usually the time allocated is goodwill in our own time. However, our links withNWCU remain strong. e ISO’s have assisted us with the investigation of several matters,attended case conferences and provided support and training.

Jamie Bartlett, Wildlife Crime Co-ordinator, Hertfordshire“

“

www.nwcu.police.uk8


12HM Revenue and Customs.

Grinova pleaded guilty to the prohibitedsale of illegally import sturgeon caviar.Magistrates said that the illegal trade incaviar was a matter of global concern, butthat they had taken into account Grinova’sprevious good character, her compliancewith the officers and her early guilty plea.She was fined £350 and £95 costs and 22jars of caviar were ordered to be destroyed.e CPS prosecutor praised the quality ofthe report provided by NWCU.

Illegal Ivory Trade

Following intelligence received from theUS Fish and Wildlife Service, anddeveloped by the Metropolitan police,NWCU and HMRC12, a warrant wasexecuted by HMRC and Bedfordshirepolice in June 2007 for offences relating tothe international trade in ivory. In October2009, Nicholas Noonan was sentenced to10 months imprisonment for offencesunder CEMA and COTES Regulations.Upon appeal (against the sentence) theCourt judgment made it quite clear thatnot only was the custodial sentence entirelyappropriate but that previous sentencingmay not have been severe enough for theseriousness of the crime by saying “weregard these sentences as failing properly toreflect the gravity of these offences. Perhaps,unlike many offences, a serious deterrentsentence might stop the trade and preventthose who otherwise live law-abiding livesom committing these serious crimes. ey

are serious because they contribute to theillegal market. Without an illegal marketthere would be no opportunity or need for thecapture of these endangered species om thewild. It is the market which feeds thedestruction of these species. It is for thatreason that significant and serious sentencesought to be passed for this type of offence.”

Rhino Horn

Rhino horns are currently in great demand(especially for use in traditional medicines)and their market value has soared. Itemsexpected to raise £8,000 at auction areselling for over £30,000. During 2009 therehave been several different incidents whereillegal rhino horn trade has come to light.An antique dealer charged with the of arhino horn from a client in Gloucestershirewas convicted and sentenced to 27 weeksimprisonment (suspended) and ordered todo 150 hours of unpaid work. e horn inthis case is understood to have been soldonto south east Asia. NWCU advised onthis case and assisted in obtaining animpact statement. Shortly aer, anotherman was arrested by UKBA officers as hewas about to leave for China carrying twoconcealed horns. NWCU assisted in thearrest of a further man in relation to thesupply of those horns and NWCU havealso led on a Norfolk case where a man ischarged with selling two rhino horns to theUSA.

International cases

International Illegal Bird Trading

In December 2009, the NWCU andAnimal Health identified suspicious tradingin birds of prey with links to birds beingillegally imported from South Africa, beingoffered for sale in UK and Europe. InJanuary 2010, the NWCU, UKBA, AnimalHealth and West Midlands police executedsearch warrants and seized seven birds ofprey. A man was arrested for making afraudulent application to obtain import

Since being appointed Dumies and GallowayConstabulary wildlife crime co-ordinator inJanuary 2009 the continual assistance andco-operation that has been offered to myself omthe NWCU in our efforts to combat wildlifecrime has been invaluable.

John JamiesonWildlife Crime Co-ordinatorDumfries and Galloway

“ “

permits and for the illegal import andprohibited sale of birds (which were valuedat around £25,000). e suspect is currentlyon bail. NWCU officer developedintelligence, assisted operation planning,helped to execute the search warrant,assisted with interviews, conductedfollowup enquiries, contributed to pressreleases and prepared a full prosecution file.is case is currently ongoing.

Operation Burley

In August 2008, Andrew Seed fromDurham was identified as a collector ofbirds’ eggs taken illegally from the wild.e resultant multi-agency operation ledto the recovery of 2,500 eggs taken illegallyfrom across the UK and abroad. In May2010, Seed pleaded guilty to foursmuggling charges relating to the unlawfulimport of birds’ eggs from the USA andAustralia. He also pleaded guilty to 11offences under COTES Regulations. Seedreceived a nine-month suspended jailsentence; was made subject to an orderpreventing him collecting eggs for fiveyears; was ordered to pay £2,107confiscation order and £1,500 costs.During the investigation, the NWCUidentified another individual in Scotlandwho was also suspected of illegally tradingin wild birds’ eggs. Along with the work ofother UK police forces and the RSPB, afurther UK individual was identified whowas suspected of illegally trading eggs.Between them, more than 11,000 illegaleggs have been recovered and all threesuspects are linked to the illegal tradeacross Scandinavia, Africa, NorthAmerica, and Australia, where enquiriesare still ongoing. NWCU ISOs havebeen actively involved in all of theseenquiries and the NWCU have facilitatedintelligence disseminations from theoutset. As a result of intelligence sentto Scandinavian enforcement officials, afurther seizure of 3,000 illegal eggsoccurred.

9www.nwcu.police.uk


13Police National Computer. 14Scottish Criminal History System. 15e table shows 106 convictions but this is made om 76 intelligence logs relating to specific person(s)of which there are 115 individual convictions (some logs refer to convictions of more than one offender).

Operation Tram

e UK’s contribution to Operation Tram,which ran throughout February 2010, sawa multi-agency group (NWCU, AnimalHealth, UKBA and police forces acrossEngland and Scotland) seize largequantities of traditional medicines. eUK was one of at least 19 countries takingpart in Operation Tram, which is the firstever globally coordinated effort against theillegal wildlife trade. World-wide, theinitiative resulted in a number of arrestsand the seizure of traditional medicines

worth an estimated £9 million. OperationTram was the successful first example ofmany planned global initiatives targetingwildlife crime enforcement and theNWCU will continue to lead in thisdeveloping business area.

Highlighting the threatfrom wildlife crime

Convictions

As cases progress, reviews are conducted byNWCU staff via the two national criminalhistory systems (PNC13 and SCHS14) toensure that the data remains current and

2009/102008/09

actionable. e NWCU are workingtirelessly to review every single case theyhold, therefore allowing instant access tonumbers of successful prosecutions forwildlife crime.

In comparison to 2008/09, where the unithad 51 convictions recorded, the last yearhas seen 11515 convictions recorded at theNWCU. is rise is partly attributable tobetter recording practices at the NWCUand, over the coming years, the unit willcontinue to refine their recording processesto ensure accurate reporting of criminalhistories as they relate to wildlife crime.

I am pleased that the amount of Hare Coursingand poaching in Humberside can now beproperly recognised and assessed due to ussubmitting data - brilliant work folks.

Christopher HineWildlife Crime OfficerHumberside Police

“ “

As Chair of PAW Scotland I would like to take the opportunity this report affords to statemy support for the work of NWCU. e sheer volume of intelligence that is gatheredanalysed and redistributed for use operationally alone would be impressive enough.However, the dedication and commitment by the team to go that extra mile - in contributingto PAW, in supporting non police partners, in engaging with enforcement across the worldand in looking for best practice and innovation - is vital in pushing forward the fight againstwildlife crime. Without them the picture would be much less clear - for police and for allother PAW partners - and their energy is an example to us all.

Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Minister for Environment

“ “

Outcomes No. % No. %

Intelligence recorded 74 4.8% 2449 70.4%

Ongoing 493 31.7% 523 15.0%

UKBA Seizure 33 2.1% 138 4.0%

Convicted 51 3.3% 106 3.0%

No Further Action 512 33.0% 76 2.2%

Pending (Court Case) 59 3.8% 72 2.1%

Insufficient Evidence/No Court Proceedings 40 2.6% 48 1.4%

Caution/Warning/Fine/Conditional Discharge* 29 1.9% 40 1.2%

Unknown 243 15.6% 10 0.3%

No Criminality 18 1.2% 10 0.3%

Not Guilty/Admonished* 1 0.1% 5 0.1%

Total 1553 3477*Figures slightly different than seen in last NWCU annual report as one case om 2008/09 removed om ‘Caution/Warning/Admonish’ category and included in a new‘Not Guilty/Admonished’ category.

www.nwcu.police.uk10


16Management of Police Information.

Partnership working

In 2009/10 the NWCU has continued to increase its partnership working, resulting in significantly more intelligence being submitted to us.e amount of intelligence the NWCU receive from its partner agencies has vastly increased from last year. is highlights the willingnessand effort that all the NWCU’s partners have shown in the sharing of information.

Intelligence

ere have been 3477 intelligence logsprocessed at the NWCU this year alone -almost the same amount that wereprocessed in the two previous years addedtogether. Each intelligence log is assessed,researched and input onto the NWCUwildlife database by the IntelligenceOfficers.

Information sharing protocols

e NWCU are involved in a multi-agency approach to investigate wildlifecrime within the UK. As the conduit forinformation sharing, the NWCU plays avital role - offering a one-stop shop forpartner agencies. e NWCU is the only

Intelligence shared with NWCU April 2007 - April 2008 - April 2009 - GrandPolice Forces and Partner Agencies March 2008 March 2009 March 2010 Total

Police Forces 947 1459 2728 5134

NWCUa 400 384 180 964

UKBA 45 107 147 299

Defra/ Animal Health 6 46 138 190

Non-govt organisations 37 27 110 174

RSPCA/ SSPCA 1 26 74 101

Science agenciesb 8 27 43 78

Statutory nature conservation organisationsc 0 32 9 41

Other 3 1 20 24

Other Enforcement Agency n/a n/a 22 22

International Enforcement Agency n/a n/a 6 6

Total 1447 2109 3477 7033

unit in the UK that fulfils this role. Via thecreation of information sharing protocolsdrawn up under MOPI16 principles, thefollowing organisations signed up toformally share appropriate data with theNWCU in 2009/10:

1. Countryside Council for Wales

2. International Fund for Animal Welfare

3. RSPB

4. Rural Payments Agency

5. North Western & North Wales SeaFisheries Committee

6. Animal Health

7. British Association for Shooting &Conservation

I’d say that to date Derbyshire Constabularyhave had very positive experiences with NWCU.I consider them to be the real driving forcebehind the national response to wildlife crime.Without NWCU’s co-ordination the picturewould be very localised and disjointed. e staffare also great and always really helpful.

Darren BelfieldWildlife Crime OfficerDerbyshire

“ “

aInformation received into the NWCU which has been internally processed into intelligencebScientific Agencies include Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) and Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA)cStatutory Nature Conservation Organisations include Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage


Information sharing protocols are alsoongoing or being considered with anumber of other organisations. As contactsare made with organisations where data canbe exchanged for policing purposes,protocols for information sharing will beconsidered and adopted by the NWCU,furthering the amount of intelligence it canact upon in future.

Incidents

In the 2009/10 year, the NWCUprocessed 9999 incidents (compared tojust 3832 in 2008/09). Every incidentreceived at the unit is categorised andimported into the wildlife database by theanalyst or the researcher. In the last year,the NWCU have begun to processincident data from several partnerorganisations. ese include:

� Bat Conservation Trust

� League against Cruel Sports

� RSPB

� Scottish Badgers

In total the NWCU have processed 581incidents from the above partners in2009/10 (compared to 0 last year).

Analytical reports

e NWCU continue to produce the full range of National Intelligence Model products,although it was agreed in early 2009 that the NWCU would only produce a strategicassessment every second year. In 2009/10, the NWCU also started producing regularnewsletters for the police wildlife crime officer network.


e NWCU continued to increase the number of intelligence charts they provided for policeforces and they have vastly increased the amount of analysis they do for the groups whichare responsible for the delivery of the UK wildlife crime priorities.

Analytical April 2007 - April 2008 - April 2009 -Report March 2008 March 2009 March 2010

Analysis for Priority Delivery Groups 0 0 10

Tactical Assessment 5 5 7

Problem Profile 1 7 6

Sanitised Product 1 7 6

Newsletters 0 0 5

Intelligence Chart 0 2 4

Pen Picture 6 1 4

Briefing Paper 4 5 3

Subject Profile 0 0 1

Strategic Assessment 1 1 0

Total 18 28 46

e Northern Ireland Environment Agency enjoys a positive working relationship withNWCU who have provided advice, support and the availability of the ISO’s to assist withinvestigations in relation to wildlife crime. In particular they have provided significantsupport and assisted with joint investigations between the PSNI and NIEA in relation toCOTES and dangerous wild animals. NWCU also provide support to PAW NI. With thehelp om NWCU, NIEA are taking a coordinated approach to dealing with wildlife crimethat falls under the remit of more than one department or agency.

Donna Cassidy, Northern Ireland Environment Agency

“ “e Society recently signed up to an information sharing protocol with the NWCU and isdelighted to report that such sharing of information is already proving uitful in thedetection of crime, with several individuals already detected and reported for prosecution inrelation to welfare and wildlife crime. It is felt by the society that this is the right way forwardin the prevention and detection of both animal welfare and wildlife crime.

Mike Flynn, SSPCA“

“On behalf of Hertfordshire Constabulary, I’d liketo thank the NWCU ISO for his help. Hechanged his commitments at very short noticewhich should be commended. He has also offeredhis assistance with the ongoing investigation andany interview(s) which may follow - an offerwhich is very much appreciated! Trying tocoordinate an enforcement job om a distanceproved difficult, but I was reassured to know thatwe had the support and backing of the NWCU.

Jamie BartlettWildlife Crime Co-ordinatorHertfordshire

“ “



Serious and organisedcrime groups

Over the last year a number of crimegroups have come to the notice of theNWCU through proactive intelligencegathering. is work has generatedsignificant enquiries across the UK, linkingto active investigations abroad. Workingwith their partners in Animal Health, theNWCU have added value locally,nationally and internationally, which overthe course of the following months willcome to fruition. is pro-active approachis showing crucial in-roads in theinvestigation of wildlife crime, which is allcontributing to the 2010 International Yearof Biodiversity.

Many of the cases that have been reportedin this annual report have shown thatwildlife crime is of a very serious nature andcan be extremely well organised. e Judgein the Johnson case stated “this is seriouscrime and they are matters of worldwideconcern” which led to Johnson being giventhe first ever Serious Crime PreventionOrder for wildlife crime. For OperationTram the UK was one of 19 countriesacross the world who worked inpartnership to seize illegal products worth

17Section taken om ‘Legal Eagle’ Issue # 59, with kind permission of the RSPB.18Key species are caviar, ivory, ramin, tortoises, traditional medicines.

an estimated £9 million. In the Pitchforthcase there was clear evidence of large scaletrade on the internet and the Pitchforth’swere quite prepared to trade anywhere inthe world. e sheer scale of theiroffending was evident when they werecharged with a total of 51 offences. Inaddition, evidence that NWCU officerslooked at in the Pitchforth case resulted inseveral other offenders being identified. Inthe Simcox case, the organised nature of hiscrime was evident in the way he misledauthorities to register the new goshawk byclaiming the microchip had failed. DuringOperation Burley, the UK suspects hadbeen organising the illegal trade of birds’eggs across Europe, the Unites States,South Africa and Australia. In addition,during an ongoing case in Scotland (whichthe Scottish NWCU ISO was involved in)a large quantity of illegal firearms andammunition were seized, showing thewider implications and risks involved in theinvestigation of wildlife crime.

e NWCU have also been involved in themajor case below which has showncriminality throughout Europe:

Operation Birch17

An operation in South Wales took place tosupport a major European enquiry toinvestigate allegations of laundering wild-taken birds of prey. In May 2009, a numberof premises were raided in South Wales.is followed the earlier arrest of two menin Belgium by police targeting peoplealleged to have taken bird eggs of a numberof European raptors to launder them intothe legitimate captive market. e jointoperation involved the Belgian federalpolice, the South Wales police, theNWCU and Animal Health. Assistancewas provided by the RSPCA and theRSPB. One man was arrested and bailedpending police enquiries.

Conservation andprevention work

Reports from Joint Nature ConservationCommittee ( JNCC); Scottish NaturalHeritage (SNH); Countryside Council forWales (CCW); Natural England and theBat Conservation Trust (BCT) inform usof the current conservation status of UKpriority species and the importance ofenforcement intervention. ese aresummarised below.

Bats

Bats are highly dependent on man-madestructures and this makes them particularlyvulnerable to building works (accountingfor 3/4’s of all reported bat crime).e conservation status of all bat speciesalso continues to concern. Researchdemonstrates that criminal behaviourhas a significant effect on bats. epreventative, analytical and partnershipwork that was previously done as part ofOperation Bat (overseen by NWCU) mustbe built on further with a continuedfocus on prevention. is has to becomplemented by securing convictions viaeffective professional investigation and theimposition of dissuasive penalties.

CITES species18

Unless trade regulations are properlyenforced and the illegal trade curtailed, thepopulation of some species face severedecline in the wild. Coordinated action byenforcement agencies, through prevention,intelligence gathering, detection andprosecution, is essential to overallconservation efforts to maintain the speciesat (or enable them to recover to) favourableconservation status.

Animal Health’s Wildlife Licensing andRegistration Service has a strong workingrelationship with the NWCU that is basedon shared goals and mutual support. epartnership has realised a number of significantachievements in the past 12 months, and we arelooking forward to further developing andenhancing the way we work together so thatwe can maintain this record of success in thefuture.

Catherine BrownChief ExecutiveAnimal Health

“ “


Freshwater pearl mussels

Scotland holds c50% of the world’sfunctioning populations of this globallythreatened species and it has beenestimated that Scottish populations ofpearl mussels could be wiped out in lessthan 20 years and the cause for this isprimarily illegal pearl fishing. e numberof offences recorded is relatively lowwhen compared to other UK wildlifecrime priorities, but the impact isdisproportionately large and has significantconservation implications for UK, Europeand the world.

Raptor Persecution

� e key constraint preventingfavourable conservation conditionbeing met in over 80% of theoccupied range of the golden eagle waspersecution, predominantly in someareas managed for grouse shooting.

� e hen harrier is one of the few specieswhose very existence as a breedingbird in England is threatened as a directresult of wildlife crime. A coordinatedapproach by enforcement authoritiesand conservation bodies will need toremain with efforts stepped up toensure that convictions are secured.

� Illegal persecution of red kites hasresulted in the north Scotland

population struggling to exceed 50pairs; by contrast, the Chilternspopulation stands at around 600 pairs,despite the fact that the same numbersof birds were released in both areas atthe same time.

Prevention work

e NWCU are directly involved in eachof the delivery groups19 for the UK wildlifecrime priorities. Each group specificallydeals with prevention work in order to turnthe focus from enforcement to preventionand awareness-raising. Successful outcomeshave included the following:

CITES Priority Delivery Group

� Progression of wildlife inspectoratevisits to prevent the illegal caviar trade

� Amending and re-distributing the EUwildlife trade fact file for trainingpurposes

Freshwater Pearl Mussel (FWPM)Priority Delivery Group

� Prevention strategy devised

� Local press releases produced, for theaffected areas, outlining the threats toFWPM

� Specialist publications utilised,targeting river users to raise awarenessand ask for assistance

Poaching Priority Delivery Group

� Poaching and hare coursingprevention plans publicised inpartner publications

� Media strategy and campaignproduced

� Guidance produced for fishermen,water bailiffs and other river/loch users,r.e. reporting a crime or intelligence

Raptor PersecutionPriority Delivery Group

� Maps produced to highlight the keyareas where raptor persecution occurs

� Completed maps publicised in themedia

Developmentsover the last year

New ACPO lead for wildlife crime

e NWCU are very grateful to ChiefConstable Richard Brunstrom for thecommitment and support that he providedto the unit since October 2006. However,upon Mr. Brunstrom’s retirement, theNWCU welcomed Chief ConstableRichard Crompton of Lincolnshire policeas the new ACPO lead for Wildlife Crimein May 2009. Mr. Crompton said of hisnew position “I know that in many forcesthere are many dedicated wildlife crimeofficers that do an outstanding joband I would like to see that replicatedin every corner of the country. I also seegroundbreaking work being done by theNWCU and I think that their work wouldbe even more effective if we could find thewherewithal to create more investigativesupport officer posts.”

ISO receives award

NWCU ISO Andy McWilliam wasawarded the prestigious 2010 Clark R.Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Award.Honouring Mr. McWilliam for hisendeavours, the UN CITES Secretariatsaid,"Mr. McWilliam has shown tremendouscommitment, gaining considerable success inapprehending wildlife criminals makingeffective use of innovative techniques,compilation of educational materials, whilstconducting enforcement training to improveefforts within and outside the UK to stopwildlife crime.”

191) Badger Persecution priority delivery group, 2) Bat Persecution priority delivery group, 3) CITES priority delivery group, 4) Freshwater pearl mussel priority deliverygroup, 5) Poaching priority delivery group (Scotland), 6) Poaching priority delivery group (England & Wales), 7) Raptor Persecution priority delivery group (Scotland)and 8) Raptor Persecution priority delivery group (England & Wales).


North Wales police have had some great successesin the past 12 months in regards to wildlifeinvestigation, the contribution of the NWCUhas been a significant part of this, in particularthe advice, guidance and assistance given bythe ISO’s.

Rob TaylorWildlife Crime Co-ordinatorNorth Wales

“ “



Staff changes:

e unit faced a significant reduction instaff in 2008/09 as permanent funding wasnot available to maintain the number ofstaff with which it originally started.However, the 2009/10 year has seen theunit use prudent financial planning andpartnership funding to increase its staffinglevels. e table below shows the staffinglevels at the inception of the NWCU, andwhat it has now.

New NWCU ScottishInvestigative Support Officer

Joint funding from ACPOS and PAWScotland was awarded for the first everScottish ISO. In May 2009, the post wasfilled by wildlife crime officer PC CharlesEveritt. PC Everitt assists the network ofwildlife crime officers in Scotland to gatherevidence/intelligence on suspects leadingto robust enforcement and prosecution.In welcoming the post, Minister forEnvironment, Roseanna Cunningham said“Crimes against nature are crimes againstScotland itself and it is vital we make thespecialist skills and resources needed to tacklesuch crimes as accessible as possible to ourpolice forces. Now that all police forces inScotland have access to [PC Everitt’s] skills,the fight against wildlife crime has gainedvaluable strength.”

New Poaching Project Officerfor England & Wales

In 2009, partnership funding allowed theNWCU to appoint the UK’s first everpoaching project officer for England &Charlie Everitt

Photo by Brian Stuart

2007/08 2008/09 2009/10

1 x Head of Unit 1 x Head of Unit 1 x Head of Unit

1 x Senior Analyst 1 x Senior Analyst 1 x Senior Analyst

1 x Senior Intelligence Officer 1 x Senior Intelligence Officer 1 x Senior Intelligence Officer

2 x Analysts 1 x Analyst (vacant) 1 x Analyst

3 x Intelligence Officers 2 x Intelligence Officers 2 x Intelligence Officers

2 x Investigative Support Officers 2 x Investigative Support Officers 3 x Investigative Support Officers

1 x Admin Clerk 1 x Admin Clerk 1 x Indexer/Admin

2 x Attachments 0 x Attachments 1 x Attachment (Poaching Officer)

1 x Operations Co-ordinator 0 x Operations Co-ordinator 1 x Researcher

Total: 14 Total: 9 Total: 12

Wales. e position is funded by theEnvironment Agency, the BritishAssociation for Shooting andConservation (BASC) and the DeerInitiative through the PAW coalition. erole of the poaching priority officer comesunder the poaching priority deliverygroup in England & Wales. is grouphas created Operation Rural Net - apartnership of organisations workingtogether to tackle poaching under theNWCU.

Researcher

rough sound financial prudence, theNWCU was able to enhance its provisionof services via the development of aresearcher position. is post plugs asignificant gap within the NWCU,providing support to the other staff andallowing the unit to deliver more effectiveinternal communications. e researcherassists with the preparation of all analysisand has developed a professional datamanagement capability within the unit toensure database accuracy.


Additional Demand

e demand for NWCU assistance washigher than ever in 2009/10. e unitdoubled the amount of intelligencecollections it made, conducted 14 timesmore database checks, was asked for fivetimes more analytical products and wasasked to produce a further five informationsharing protocols.

e NWCU also processed 46 mediarequests in the last year (compared to justone the year before), highlighting thesignificant media interest there is for wildlifecrime. ere were also significantly morerequests for assistance in 2009/10 (primarilyfrom police forces requesting operationalassistance from the ISOs). ere were37 requests for the NWCU to givepresentations in 2009/10 and NWCU staffalso helped with (or presented to) 19training courses across the UK.

e demand on all the NWCU staff washigher than ever in 2009/10. Almost everyrole has had significantly more actionsallocated to them in the last year.

InternationalPartnership

e last year has also seen a significantupturn in relation to internationalenquiries. e NWCU is developing seveninternational operations transgressingnational boundaries. In addition the unitcontributes to the following groups:

Interpol EnvironmentalWorking Group

e last year has seen the NWCU build onthe solid foundations of internationalcooperation, through its substantialinvolvement as a member of the InterpolEnvironmental Working Group. As amember of this influential organisation thevoice of the UK has sought to increase theglobal capacity in relation to enforcementof wildlife crime.


Action Apr 2008 - April 2009 -Type March 2009 March 2010 Total

Intelligence Collection 1463 2849 4312

Administration 97 169 266

Database Check 17 245 262

Email request 192 54 246

Request for Assistance 19 184 203

Analytical Product/Assessment 17 87 104

Media Enquiry/Request 1 46 47

Intelligence Product 28 14 42

Presentation Requested n/a 37 37

Research 1 27 28

Court Attendance/Court Warning n/a 23 23

Information Sharing Protocol 9 14 23

Meeting/Conference/Training n/a 19 19

Alert 2 8 10

Request for Statistics 0 9 9

CPS/COPFS* Case Management n/a 8 8

Freedom of Information Request 1 2 3

International Liaison 1 1 2

Grand Total 1848 3796 5644

Person Apr 2008 - April 2009 -Allocated March 2009 March 2010 Total

Intelligence Officers (x2) 1156 2920 4076

Investigative Support Officers (x3) 225 374 599

Senior Intelligence Officer 384 147* 531

Senior Analyst 35 102 137

Analyst 18 96 114

Head of Unit 22 39 61

Project Officer 7 58 65

Admin Assistant 1 13 14

Researcher n/a 47 47

Grand Total 1848 3796 5644

*Due to long term sickness

*Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service



European UnionEnforcement Working Group

e NWCU also contributes to theEuropean Union Enforcement WorkingGroup (EU EWG). As head of theNWCU, DI Stuart performs the role ofUK police lead within this group. e EUEWG collaborates across the EU, providingtraining, guidance and support, plus thesharing of intelligence. It is continuallyseeking to improve preventative measuresand, where necessary, will initiate crossborder enforcement.

SustainableDevelopment Dialogue

e Sustainable Development Dialogue,run by Defra, has seen the NWCU playhost to a delegation of Chinese wildlifeenforcement officials. is collaborationfacilitated the sharing of experience inrelation to the handling and disseminationof intelligence.

CITES Enforcement Group

e NWCU played a significant roleat the CITES Enforcement Groupmeeting in Oregon at the US Fish andWildlife Service forensic laboratory inJune 2009. is led to outcomes and

recommendations that would betterinform the Conference of the Parties(COP 15) in Qatar in March 2010 onpreventative measures and the sharing ofintelligence and enforcement techniques.

Ministerial visits

e NWCU relies heavily on governmentfunding and is always keen to spread thewildlife crime message amongst politiciansat Westminster or within devolvedadministrations. In 2009/10 severalMinisters met with the unit:

Andrew Rosindell

On 17th May 2009, the former shadowMinister for animal welfare visited the unit.Minister Rosindell said “e NWCU havebeen instrumental in bringing prosecutionagainst dozens of criminals and I know howdetermined they are to this most importantof tasks in the future.”

Huw Irranca-Davies

On 6th October 2009, Huw Irranca-Davies, the former Defra Minister forMarine and Natural Environment, visitedLincolnshire police headquarters where hemet the force’s wildlife crime officers andstaff from the NWCU. He took part in thelaunch of Operation Galileo aimed attackling hare-coursing in the county.

Alan Campbell

On 10th September 2009, the formerHome Office minister Alan Campbellvisited the NWCU. He was met andhosted there by Chief Constable Richard

Crompton. During his tour, the Ministerwas given an understanding of currentcrime trends threatening the UK’s wildlifeand how the NWCU goes about tacklingthem.

The future

E-crime researcher

As reported in the last annual report, thetrue scale of the internet in the facilitationof wildlife crime is currently unknown,although it is believed to be very prolific.Whilst the NWCU will act on anyinformation or intelligence it receives, lackof appropriate staff meant it struggled toconduct indepth investigations intoe-crime activity. It is hoped that Defrafunding is going to be available for theNWCU to employ an e-crime researcherfor a one year project to proactively gatherand develop intelligence from the internet.It is anticipated that this long sought aerposition will allow the NWCU to makein-roads in quantifying the extent to whichthe internet is being used to facilitatewildlife crime offences.

Proceeds of crime

If the NWCU can secure funding for thenext three years it will be able to embarkupon a number of international enquiriesof significance which will invoke theProceeds of Crime Act. In this way, theNWCU will be able to target theenormous monetary gain that offenders aremaking from their involvements in theillegal trade in wildlife.

During the past year the partnership betweenCumbria police and NWCU has been greatlyimproved with a number of cases dealt withjointly, including the first endangered speciesoffence investigation ever to take place in thecounty. is has raised the profile of wildlifecrime within the organisation and I hope thatthis partnership will continue now that thedecision has been made to create a full timecoordinators role within Cumbria Constabulary.

John ShawWildlife Crime Co-ordinatorCumbria

“ “I am very impressed with the work of the staff at the NWCU. eir enormous dedicationand enthusiasm, combined with their professionalism and determination, is really makinga difference to our work to tackle and disrupt wildlife crime. Most importantly, the unit isforging ever stronger links with all the agencies and organisations involved in fightingwildlife crime. is partnership approach is the only way forward, and I’m convinced thatit will continue to pay dividends.

Huw Irranca-Davies, former Minister for Marine and Natural Environment, Defra“ “

17

UK National Wildlife Crime UnitOld Livingston Police Station

Almondvale SouthLivingston

West LothianEH54 6PX

Tel: 01506 833 722Fax: 01506 443 447

NWCUuk

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UK National Wildlife Crime Unit in Partnership with

ACPOSASSOCIATION OF CHIEF POLICE OFFICERS IN SCOTLAND

www.nwcu.police.uk

annual report 2010

Documents

combatswildlife crime

serious crime preventionorder

investigation ofwildlife

ght againstwildlife

wildlife countryside

oences contraryto

uk partnershipfor action

notice ofthe nwcu