Home security improvements provided to support rural communities

Rural victims of crime are being provided with home security improvements as part of an initiative to keep communities safe.

Nottinghamshire Police’s Rural and Wildlife Crime cohort work across the county engaging with farms, estates and rural communities to provide reassurance and address their concerns.

Rural Crime Prevention Officers recently visited Dunham-on-Trent and East Drayton to speak with farmers and ensure they feel safe and listened to after farms in the area reported workshops had been broken into and quad bikes and machinery stolen.

Enquiries to find those responsible are ongoing.

Criminals often target tractors, trailers, generators, off-road quad bikes or vehicles, machinery, horse boxes and other tools.

Organised crime groups travel across the countryside to steal tractor global positioning systems (GPS), which can be worth tens of thousands of pounds, and cause considerable damage in the process of removing them.

The crime prevention officers provide a point of contact for farmers and rural communities to discuss their concerns, which are then reported back to influence neighbourhood policing priorities.

Officers also work to address other rural concerns including fly-tipping, hare coursing, burglaries, diesel thefts, and off-road vehicles damaging farmers’ land.

As part of the force’s Prevention Hub, Rural Crime Prevention Officers can provide risk assessments to identify vulnerable properties and introduce security measures to reduce repeat victims of crime.

Following an assessment, officers can provide security cameras, signage and installation to protect barns and machinery free of charge.

The Prevention Hub is a collaboration between multiple force departments responsible for developing and delivering strategies to prevent crime and disorder throughout the city and county.

It covers a range of areas including rural and wildlife crime, violence against women and girls, and youth outreach.

Helen Ridley, Nottinghamshire Police's Rural and Wildlife Crime Manager, said: “Crime targeting our rural communities is intrusive and leaves people feeling vulnerable and isolated.

“We know that the theft of GPS systems not only has a significant financial cost but compounds the misery of farmers through lost time and income when they are unable to plough their fields.

“The support of our rural communities is vital in helping us bring offenders to justice, so please contact us to raise your concerns if you see anyone acting suspiciously in your area.

“Providing security improvements is part of our multi-targeted approach, as we will do everything we can as a force to protect victims and ensure offenders are brought to justice.”