This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
New taskforce to tackle rural crimes
01/03/2022
The aim is to make the Thames Valley a hostile place for those who commit rural crimes
Thames Valley Police has launched a Rural Crime Taskforce to deal with offences committed at isolated or rural locations affecting farms, agriculture, wildlife, the environment and heritage sites.
The new team will tackle issues such as harm to animals and the theft of vital machinery, which farmers rely on for their livelihoods. The aim is to make the Thames Valley a hostile place for those who commit rural crimes.
The Taskforce consists of a team of dedicated officers, as well as intelligence support, who will work with partners, drone units, and others to tackle serious and organised rural crime.
So far over £400,000 worth of trailers, caravans and other equipment have been recovered by the team. They have been proactively working with the Forensic Investigation Unit to address rises in thefts of GPS systems within tractor satellite navigation systems. Local policing areas across the Thames Valley have also seen the benefit of the Taskforce, with the team supporting investigations into rural issues such as thefts and hare coursing.
Rural Crime Taskforce Inspector, Stuart Hutchings said: “The trust and confidence of our rural communities is extremely important to us and that is why we are grateful to the Police and Crime Commissioner for the funding which has enabled us to develop a Rural Crime Taskforce.
“The Taskforce will make the Thames Valley a hostile place for anyone looking to commit rural crime. We now have a team of dedicated officers committed to making our rural communities safer as well as staff waiting to take your call who are trained in the complexities of rural crime and its impacts. We will not tolerate rural crime.”
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire NFU chair Alex Nelms said: “The commitment by Thames Valley Police to introduce and resource a Rural Crime Taskforce really is welcome news to farmers and growers across our three counties.
“For a long time now, we have been calling for greater resources that would enable the force to be better placed to tackle specific types of rural crime, given the challenges of working over such a broad area. This taskforce will also undoubtedly boost the amount of intelligence gathered by Thames Valley Police that it will be able to share with neighbouring forces, where criminals are operating across borders.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam