Days out have been spent over the past couple of months with officers from Cheshire’s rural police team and Helen Wainwright Cheshire NFU County Adviser. The aim of the days has been to introduce the officers to members of the rural community.
Tony Lamon, Barbara Evans, Helen Wainwright, James Ashbrook
“It’s essential that we all work together to help tackle rural crime,” Helen said.
“The first step is that we open up the line of communication. People are busy and don’t have the time to go to meetings to meet officers, but can spare five minutes if the officers go to them.”
The police have gone out with Helen who has introduced them to local farmers and businesses and each officer has handed out business cards with their contact details on. The officers have explained who to contact in different situations, from dialling 999 if an incident is happening at the time to emailing your local officer if you see a suspicious vehicle. Mentioning your local officer when reporting incidents means they are made aware of the situation and they can ensure the matter is dealt with. It also ensures that the person who reported the incident receives feedback on the actions taken.
Doug Sheard, Tony Lamon, Barbara Evans, Helen Wainwright, Tim Sheard
More than a dozen premises have been visited on each of the days and positive responses received all round.
Helen added: “The rural community want to work with the local police and are fantastic eyes and ears as they quickly know if something different is occurring. Knowing the rural contact and who to report these things to is a great step forward in helping to tackle rural crime. Farms they have visited have been in the Congleton and Macclesfield area but we are planning to repeat this in other parts of the county.”