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Good Morning, Northumbria Police have launched new Rural Crime initiative for the Force by Alnwick Neighbourhood Team which aims to reduce theft of Vehicles, Plant and Agricultural Equipment, continuing to build working relationships with rural Stakeholders and Landowners, and those living within rural community. Over 160 Farms and rural properties in Coquetdale and surrounding areas visited by the Team, where a multilayered approach to promoting key messages around cross border Organised Acquisitive Crime offending; which is frequently perpetrated by well organised, fluid and resilient Organised Crime Groups (OCG’s)who are prepared to travel significant distances to both carry out hostile reconnaissance and steal from rural communities. The initiative was instigated by PCSO Peter Johnson from Alnwick Neighbourhood Team who has an in depth working knowledge on Rural Crime having been instrumental in the launch of Operation Hawkeye in June 2020, being responsible for instigating the recovery of over £1.1 Million of stolen Vehicles, Plant & Agricultural Equipment since, alongside researching both Organised Crime Groups and Transnational Organised Crime Groups who have (and continue) to target rural communities both locally within Northumbria and elsewhere nationally. Speaking of the initiative PCSO Peter Johnson said "While not an entirely a new concept the simple ideas are always the most effective, where visual, focused and targeted key messages can be shared within the rural community, engaging with those who would directly benefit and enable them to make informed choices, while offering reassurance and collecting valuable intelligence to target those who are seeking to cause harm in the rural area. Using an open engagement letter to the rural community which has an introduction, shares advice on crime prevention, reporting of incidents to Northumbria Police alongside links to useful documents on Rural Crime. Every person engaged with also has my contact details to speak with me directly if required. The engagement letter has been supplemented with durable 'Police Stop Me' stickers which are printed on highly reflective Orange Oralite material to standout in the darkness, this part of the initiative has long since been a success in other parts of the Country, where we've been fortunate to gain the attention of Police Scotland and Durham Constabulary, supporting them in adopting the initiative for themselves.
The depth of the work undertaken is more than merely handing out stickers or offering hollow soundbites, and has encouraged an increase in reporting of suspicious activity and crimes within the rural areas from the Public, where desirable items which are typically stolen such as ATVs, Trailers, work vehicles loaded with Tools, 4x4's and other high value items of Plant equipment to be stopped and checked by Police Officer's if they're seen mobile during the hours of darkness. We recognise the impact of Rural Crime can be devastating on both businesses and wildlife, where the physical and psychological damage caused can have a lasting effect on both the Victim and the community in those areas for a prolonged period of time. With other financial and environmental pressures on the Farming community with price increases on raw materials and equipment, very real implications around financial harm caused by Organised Acquisitive Crime for some victims may never be recovered from. The protection of the Farming community is within the local and national interest, given it is the source of much of our food on shop shelves. The reception to the initiative in our area has been welcomed with positive feedback from the rural community, those wishing to come here to cause harm should think twice about it - we could be anywhere.”
Alnwick Neighbourhood Inspector Thomas Ashley said “The initiative displays the local neighbourhood policing teams ongoing commitment to the rural community, particularly in relation to raising awareness and preventing rural crime.” “The team have invested significant amounts of time and effort into the pursuit of offenders and deterrence of crime, and so far this year have contributed to the recovery of over £250,000 of Vehicles, Plant and Agricultural Equipment. The ‘Police Stop me’ initiative has been very well received within our rural communities and is proving a very useful crime prevention and engagement tool. The team are keen to build on its success and will continue to do everything they can to make it harder to offend within Northumberland.”
Associate Professor in Criminology, Dr Kate Tudor from University of Durham who has been influential on the modelling of a Rural Crime response nationally welcomed the initiative; “it is fantastic to see the great work being done by Northumbria Police in rural Northumberland. Serious organised criminals from across the UK and beyond its borders continue to be drawn to our rural areas where they cause considerable harm to residents and business owners. Policing rural areas can be extremely challenging because of the significant geographical spaces involved and the specialist forms of knowledge required. Low levels of police visibility have traditionally eroded public confidence across rural areas and so it is heartening to see the work being done by Alnwick Neighbourhood Team to make strong links with the community, increase their visibility and offer reassurance. We know that secure relationships between rural communities and the police are an important part of our defence against organised criminals, particularly when they facilitate greater levels of reporting. The provision of ‘Police Stop Me’ stickers is also a positive step forward as criminals are known to capitalise on weaknesses present in rural communities which include a lack of knowledge about rural activities. These stickers give members of the public and police alike the confidence to act when they are unsure, and this is extremely valuable in building resilience against agricultural thefts. In addition to these measures, it would also be great to see Northumbria Police participate in rural WhatsApp schemes which are now recognised nationally as best practice in rural policing responses.”
Anyone residing within the Alnwick Neighbourhood Team area Alnwick | Police.uk is invited to request a site visit by the Team, and arrange for the stickers to be fitted via 4187@northumbria.police.uk, alternatively, anyone residing in the Berwick Neighbourhood Team Area Berwick | Police.uk is invited to contact PCSO Philip Davidson 9445@northumbria.police.uk.
Police Scotland scheme to lower number of farm vehicle thefts
I hope this goes some way to reassuring you that Alnwick Neighbourhood Team are being proactive in the rural areas. Regards, Peter Peter Johnson 4187 | ||||
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