Gypsy and Traveller Guidance
The aim of this guidance is to inform officers and staff on traditions/cultures
of Irish travellers and Romany Gypsies that will help assist them to improve
relations and contact with these communities.
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Gypsies and Travellers have what many people would consider as
‘traditional’ values. There are specific roles for each gender and certain
hierarchies within communities. Men will often have more authority in
the community than women and youths from the age of 12 – 13 will be
considered as adults.
If an elder male is not available when you go on to the site, it will
often be down to an elder male youth to represent the community,
women will often not go out to meet male officers if their husband/ a
male is not present. If a teenager is the first to approach you on a site,
treat them as an adult and do not assume you need to talk to an elder
person.
When entering sites drive on and do not leave your car and beep your
horn, wait until someone comes out to greet you.
If at all possible do not enter a trailer if a woman is by her self, if male
officers arrive on to the site the lady would not want to let them in if
she was by herself, consider getting a male from the community or if
possible female officers to accompany the lady.
In cases of domestic abuse female members of the community would
need to talk to female officers/staff, even then discussing intimate
details with strangers would be very hard and this should be dealt with
sensitively.
The trailer will be kept very clean and cleanliness inside the home is of
up most importance, consider this if you have mud on your shoes or
are entering with police dogs. If someone outside the family has to go
thorough belongings then items that have touched would have to be
thrown away, privacy is important, consider this if it is not necessary to
touch items in the persons home.
Honestly is greatly respected within these communities, therefore don’t
promise to do something you cannot be sure to follow up, being
truthful, whatever the outcome, is a better option.
When dealing with sudden death, there is a potential for conflict for
the need of a post mortem. Be sure to explain fully the need for the
procedure and treat the issues with sensitivity. It is not uncommon for
a site to be vacated after a death.
Romany gypsies will light a fire and keep it burning until the night of
the funeral they will have many visitors coming in an out of the site
and will often bring the deceased family member home for a few days
so people can pay their respects, the person will be placed in a caravan
and burned with their belongings on the night of the funeral.
Difference between Romany gypsies and Irish travellers. Irish travellers
will move about in large groups where as Romany travellers move
around in smaller groups. Irish travellers are predominately Catholics,
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where as Romany Gypsies are mainly Christian. Many Irish travellers
would not like to be confused as Romany and vice versa, if in doubt
just ask.
Children may often experience bullying and/or discrimination at school
for being part of the Gypsy/Traveller community. This means that
many families are not keen to put children in to education, it is not
always their choice to keep children away from school.
Some members of the community may be illiterate; this should be
taking into consideration when issuing forms or when giving out
contact details. Written communication may be a barrier, if in doubt
read information out or leave a phone number for future enquiries.
As travellers will often move around they may not have a permanent
address. This can create problems when trying to keep contact for
example with an ongoing case. Where possible use other methods of
communication like the telephone.
The same family may have different surnames; one child may take the
mother’s surname and another the father’s. The surname can also
differ on a person’s passport to their driving licence. This should not
necessarily be treated as suspicious but is part of a tradition.