Part of the Protective Services Department, the Administrative Law Enforcement Unit was set up almost two decades ago to safeguard the environment. Since then, it has grown from three policemen to almost two dozen and, a decade ago, became responsible for the sea and the coast.
But its list of duties continued to grow. On its powerful speedboats, the unit enforces fishing regulations, confirms that boats are indeed registered and insured and monitors protected areas, among others. In summer, it also patrols the most popular beaches to provide immediate assistance to swimmers.
It’s also responsible for the littering of camp sites, contraventions involving household pets and farm animals and also provides support services to government departments. But one of its most important duties is patrolling for the illegal hunting and the trapping of birds and bringing those responsible to justice.
Patrols are divided between two shifts, from sunrise to sunset. Three groups of two policemen patrol the south, centre and north of the island, driving along desolate paths, climbing high walls, sifting through the long grass and arguing with scores of upset (and that’s being mild) hunters and trappers.
The unit’s uniform is unique to that of the remainder of the force. Rain or shine, in summer, its policemen wear black baseball caps (faded because of the long hours spent in the sun), light blue polo shirts, charcoal cargo pants and combat boots. In winter, a dark blue sweater is worn over a light blue shirt and black tie. Then again, other than a pair of handcuffs, mace and a torch, the policemen aren’t armed and don’t wear protective clothing, such as a bulletproof vest or, at least, reinforced glasses. In fact, the sergeant said that the pocket knife he wears at his belt he bought himself to cut the taught wires of bird traps.
The sergeant said a hunter once threw his shotgun to the ground in anger and it let off a shot.
It’s also common for hunters and trappers to put obstacles in the policemen’s path, more often than not stone slabs. The policemen must step out of their off-roaders, move the slab to one side and continue with the patrol. But if it’s a barrier that’s blocking their path, the policemen have no choice but to continue on foot.
But the hunter’s and trapper’s desperate attempts don’t stop there. People are sometimes paid to watch out for approaching police off-roaders. These then give the hunters or trappers a call on their mobile phones and the message is passed on from one to the other using radios. The unit found this out when it intercepted the radioed messages.
Neither does a closed season stop hunters and trappers. Sometimes, the policemen drive into an area and see tens of them shoot out of the long grass, drop their shotguns and cages and make a run for it. Moreover, some hunters conceal their shotguns in their fields, looking more or less inconspicuous to a patrol.
Making the unit’s duties harder are careless birdwatchers, who often anger hunters or trappers. The sergeant said a hunter once got into a heated argument with a birdwatcher who was using a video camera to film birds in the adjacent field. The hunter was well-built, and if it weren’t for the policemen, the birdwatcher would have gotten hurt.
But it is this mischief that often lands a hunter or trapper in court, or rather their colleagues’. The sergeant said hunters and trappers are jealous of one another and often report each other to the police. In fact, most of the time, most cases are solved from the comfort of the unit’s green painted offices at the force’s garage.

Source: Weekender, February 7, 2009