A delegation of British police officers has visited Traveller families and liaised with gardai in Rathkeale, Co Limerick, in an effort to improve relations between Travellers and police in the seaside resort of Great Yarmouth.
Supt David Cushing of Norfolk police said many Traveller families who arrived in Great Yarmouth at Christmas gave Rathkeale as their home address. He and two other officers had met some families in the west Limerick town on Monday to learn about cultural issues. "It really was about talking to people about the acceptability and nature of what is happening, and learning from the experience."
Great Yarmouth was overwhelmed by more than 350 caravans and 2,000 Travellers of Irish descent during the Millennium celebrations last year, necessitating a large sum being spent on extra policing arrangements.
Many of the Travellers live permanently in Britain and had travelled from London and the midlands. The caravans were parked in and around the seafront over 11 days, and a law against "trespass assembly" was invoked to move them on.
"They [the British officers] saw how we police here," said Supt Ed MacEoin, of Askeaton district. "As a result of that, they went back and felt much more at ease with the situation."
He said the need to establish personal relations with Travellers was emphasised as a policing method.
The population of 1,700 in Rathkeale, half of whom come from the Travelling community, doubles every Christmas when families who have been travelling in Britain and on the continent for the year return for a holiday.
In Great Yarmouth there have been Traveller gatherings at other holiday periods, including Easter, when more than 100 caravans can arrive - itself an "unmanageable" event, according to Supt Cushing. "If you move 1,000 people and all attendant things into an urban community, the infrastructure is very much inadequate to cope with that."
Such unplanned gatherings also caused concern and uncertainty for local residents, he said. Great Yarmouth has a population of 120,000 and is one of the main seaside resorts on the east coast.
However, a large gathering is not expected this weekend. Supt Cushing said many Traveller families had decided to stay at an organised site in Newark, Nottinghamshire, over the weekend following the annual fair there.
Ms Ronnie Fay, director of the Traveller support group, Pavee Point, said opening up communication with Travellers, instead of reacting to an event, was a positive development. "It becomes a problem when it is not planned and anticipated and resourced, and that does not suit anybody at the end of the day."
