Dear Mr Arfon Jones.

We are writing this open letter to North Wales Police Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones after he blocked one of our members from his Facebook page for merely stating the truth.

Dear Mr Arfon Jones,

We found it quite bizarre that you felt the need to block one of our members from commenting on your public Facebook page and removed the comment, when our member was merely telling the truth. We’re unsure whether you’re even allowed to do this considering the fact you’re meant to be working for the public. At best we found it childish and an attempt to censor the truth from being posted, but we can assure you we will not shut up and go away despite the best attempts of your officers.

To say you’ve never heard of our sab is quite strange considering we have all the emails he’s ever sent you, including one that you did actually reply to. Your stance on illegal hunting in North Wales seems a bit wishy washy and you appear to be in total denial that it even taken place. Illegal fox hunting appears to be something you will not discuss in pubic and it comes across that you would just like to sweep it under the carpet, just like your officers do. When the police are forced into making a statement about illegal hunting in North Wales is usually the same nonsense. We have a dedicated team or wildlife officers…. blah blah blah. The truth is when it comes to illegal fox hunting your rural crime team are not interested. We know you hold the rural crime team in high regard, but let us tell you they are a laughing stock. Rob Taylor the manager of the rural crime team blocks anybody who questions what they are doing about the illegal fox hunting. We’ve ever had police officers telling us how useless the rural crime team are. On one occasion we caught the Flint and Denbigh hunt illegally hunting fox cubs during cubbing season, one of our sabs was assaulted (this is quite common) and the police were called. When two officers arrived a sab asked them if they were from the rural crime team. The officers laughed “No we are not, it’s Saturday they do their own rota and give themselves Saturdays off.” It’s not a 100% accurate statement as they do love to work a Saturday if there is a nice country show to go to or a bit of TV work to boost Rob’s ego. The whole job description Rural crime team/ wildlife officers seems to be very conflicting as it’s often the farmers that the rural crime team are cosying up to that are committing the wildlife crimes. Example that aggressive farmer bloke off the tele from Llanfairfechan that the officers are in love with, happens to be great pals with one of the most vile pieces from the Flint and Denbigh hunt. The Denbigh and Flint show where the rural crime team have a stall, where the Flint and Denbigh hunt parade to drum up support. The land is owned by Flint and Denbigh hunt secretary Anthony Griffiths. On one occasion we caught the Flint and Denbigh hunts terrier men leaving a woodland owned by Anthony Griffiths, the terrier men had spades with then, on further inspection the badger setts in the woodland had freshly been filled in. The police were called and officers from Denbigh station arrived, and we took them to the area of the crime all well and good. We told them that the spades should be confiscated off the terrier men for soil samples. But unfortunately this never happened, we asked for the rural crime team but once again being a Saturday no officers were on duty. Weeks later we received a phone call from one of the rural crime team asking for our help ‘Do we know who may have interfered with a badger sett in a certain area.’ We asked the officer what had happened regarding the sett filled in by the hunt on Anthony Griffiths land. “Oh I’ve had a word with Anthony Griffiths about it.” Had a word!? It’s not good enough! The laws do not seem to apply to the Flint and Denbigh hunt and it’s members. That’s not the only time badger setts have been interfered with on this land. Do you recall the Animal Rights lady who was prosecuted for assault on the Flint and Denbigh hunts terrier man? Well there was no assaults and no proof of any assault, yet the police made her life hell. The facts are the terrier men were caught digging into a registered badger sett, where was the action against the terrier men? That the hell are terrier men doing with the hunt in the first place? Why are they digging out a fox that had run to ground in a badger sett?

The police bias corruption and harassment of hunt saboteurs has been going on for years. I’m sure Mr Jones that you are aware of Sargent Neil Stringfellow and his frauded dispersal order? If not I’ll refresh you. Sgt Strinfellow took it upon himself to colluded with the Flint and Denbigh hunt are in particular Ed Lloyd-Ellis. This resulted in Sgt Stringfellow turning up at the hunt one day and arresting 2 saboteurs for failing to leave the area under a dispersal order. The problem being this dispersal order was not legal. Stringfellow had altered the dates on the dispersal order and added maps after it had already been signed by a senior officer. The sabs were taken to court and the district judge completely embarrassed Sgt Stringfellow pointing out that Stringfellow and Lloyd-Ellis were a bit overly friendly together. Obviously the sabs were found not guilty and the police were sued for quite a considerable amount. https://www.thecanary.co/discovery/analysis-discovery/2019/03/12/police-paid-an-anti-hunting-activist-thousands-after-she-was-wrongfully-arrested/

Neil Stringfellow has since “retired”. But before he retired he tried it again! Rocking up at the illegal hunt claiming he’d put a dispersal order on the area. It was pointed out to him that he was a high enough ranking officer to do so. He then claimed to be acting Inspector for the day, a quick call to 101 proved him to be lying. With Stringfellow retiring and the police getting sued may be things would get better? Definitely not as you see Denbigh police station have another Sargent, a Stringfellow mark2. There’s a certain person who goes out with the Flint and Denbigh hunt, his role is attack sabs. 18 assaults I can count by this same person, he also happens to be a Councillor for Trelawnyd and Gwaenysgor and likes to boast about his high ranking friends in the police. Of these 18 assaults on numerous different people he has not once been charged by the police, this is despite very good video evidence. In fact the police often twist it and make this violent thug out to be the victim. On one occasion he strangled one of our sabs causing the sab injuries to the neck and back. The police never even requested the medical records from the hospital. Another occasion he attacked 3 sabs on a public footpath, hitting one in the throat and stole a hunting horn from us. No further action was taken there either. December 2018 and the same repeat offender assaulted a sab on a public footpath, grabbing the sab by the throat for some time, the sab briefly grabbed hold of his attacker in a similar way for only a few seconds to see if the attacker would release him, he didn’t so the sab released the hunt thug who continued to assault him. The police were called and a statement given. The next things we heard was no further action was to be taken against the hunt thug but the sab was to be interviewed for a counter allegation of assault. Of course the police charged the sab and put him through months of hell awaiting the court case in this later stitch up by North Wales Police. 2 days before court the CPS dropped the case. It was amazing what we read in the Councillor hunt thugs statement. It was the police that phoned him up and tipped him off to the whereabouts of the sabs. Which resulted in this known violent thug finding the sabs and assaulting one. No wonder the police couldn’t and wouldn’t charge him. Interestingly in was the police out with the drone that tipped him off. We saw the police with the drone on this day at least one of them being from the rural crime team. https://www.thecanary.co/discovery/analysis-discovery/2019/08/28/court-documents-reveal-the-horrifying-relationship-between-north-wales-police-and-a-local-hunt/

A complaint was made to the IOPC we recieved the complaint back and it was a complete whitewash by the police. Typical police just shutting up shop. This is one of the reasons we don’t think an ex cop should be the police crime commissioner. We cannot see you ever holding the police to account. We’ve appealed the IOPC report and our appeal has been accepted. One of the lies in the report was they couldn’t locate any officers out with the drone on that day. Unfortunately for the police we have proof thanks to a Freedom of Information act request. How do the police not know which officers were on duty on a certain day? Pull the other one.

Whilst this complaint was under investigation the same police Sargent from Denbigh police station did exactly the same thing again. An attack on a sab was reported yet the police did not even bother taking a statement instead they tried to stitch up the sab with an aggravated trespass that did not happen. This also is now with the IOPC.

Don’t think we’ve not tried to work with the police, we’ve given numerous tip offs to the rural crime team even ones of badger baiting some of which have since been convicted. We pestered the rural crime team to come out to the illegal fox hunts for years. Then finally PC Dewi Evans turned up with a drone and everything. PC Evan’s then witness a certain member of the hunt assault 2 people then arrested one of the sabs for defending himself. We also tried to work with police liaison officers. But we all the know the true purpose of liaison officers is to collect evidence. The liaison officers let us down, they weren’t turning up at hunt meets their only aim so to get intelligence on us to use again us, therefore we would not liaise with them. They were even turning up at our home addresses unannounced.

In another stitch up last Summer in emerged that North Wales Police had an operation in place for dealing with hunt saboteurs Operation Yarder. https://www.thecanary.co/feature/2019/08/08/north-wales-police-response-to-concern-over-its-handling-of-hunt-saboteurs-raises-serious-questions/

When we blew the cover of their operation where they’d been colluding with an illegal fox hunt to target hunt saboteurs, the police came out with a nonsense account that they liaise with both sides. This isn’t true we do not liaise with the police. It’s a one sided operation to get rid of the sabs.

We’ve email you numerous times, but your lack of response has been disappointing although expected. Your lack of action against the bias and corruption going on within North Wales Police comes across as very hypocritical, you’re very keen to point the finger at the Tories or Labour yet you fail to hold the corrupt police to account. As somebody put it to us the other day. “You need to be careful of Arfon Jones he’ll run with both the fox as he does with the hounds.” We’ve even had police officers off the record warn us about North Wales Police. One once told us he fully supports what we do and told us not to be oppressed by the police.

We’ve contacted our MP’s regarding North Wales Police and they do respond. Recently MP for Delyn Rob Roberts contacted Chief Constable Carl Foulkes about our concerns but got a wishy washy response, Carl Foulkes claimed he’d asked for evidence to support these allegations. He did do that but in the next sentence said he could be commenting on it further due to the serious allegations made. Why is Chief Constable Carl Foulkes asking us for the evidence? The police have all the evidence available to them. All they need to do is look at the complaints of assaults and illegal hunting that we’ve made then look at the ones made against us. No honest person could come to the conclusions that Denbigh police have come to. How can they watch a video of somebody being assaulted in a public place then charge the victim? It’s absolutely disgusting!

We are now at the point where we cannot report crime to the police as somehow they always twist it to charge us.

We believe the sensible decision was made to cancel the PCC elections until next year. At which time we’ll be inviting all candidates to discuss what that can do about all the issues we’ve raise about.

Regards North Wales Hunt Saboteurs