Farmers urged to help tackle crime

The new Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police, Chris Eyre, met farmers on Friday to hear first-hand how rural crime affects them.

Newark Police have been spearheading an initiative to get to the roots of rural crime, which includes plans to recruit rural specials and community support officers in villages and farmyards.

Mr Eyre said that while rural crime was nowhere the top of league tables in volume and was dispersed over big geographical areas, it was often high value crime and stamping it out was important.

Newark Police’s lead on rural crime, Detective Chief Inspector Mel Bowden, encouraged the ten farmers present to spread the message that farmers had to help police to help them.

There was no point, she said, buying expensive new farm machinery and not paying the extra to have tracking devices activated so they could be tracked if stolen.

The secretary of the Newark branch of the National Farmers’ Union, Mr Andrew Smith, agreed and said a number of stolen tractors had recently been traced to Poland.

Concerns expressed at the meeting included prevention of arson attacks on haystacks —said by farmers to be the work of adults rather than children; sheep worrying with dogs; the ability to have illegally-camped travellers removed from farmland; red diesel theft; and the length of time the force took to process shotgun licenses.

The MP for Newark, Mr Patrick Mercer, who chaired the meeting, said: “What has come out of today’s meeting is that policing in Nottinghamshire isn’t going to be any richer and we have got to help ourselves.

“We need to get people enlisted into this scheme and get warranted people on to your farms in order for it to work.”

A conference between police and farmers is due to take place at the Cedric Ford Pavilion, Newark Showground, from 2pm on November 19.

All farmers are invited to air their views, hear crime prevention advice and learn how Nottinghamshire Police is tackling rural crime.