NFU welcomes newly launched Nottinghamshire Police rural crime team
Nottinghamshire farmers have welcomed a new policing team to crack down on rural crime and support those living and working in rural communities.
County police chiefs announced the launch of their Neighbourhood Rural Crime Team this week to clamp down on the issue.
Nottinghamshire Police said the team, based at Ollerton Police Station, is an extension of their existing neighbourhood policing offer and will bring together four officers dedicated to rural crime, working with others from across the county.
The new team will deal with prevention, tackle recurring and emerging issues and improve outcomes for victims.
The news has been backed by the NFU who have been in regular talks with the police about the impact of crime on farms, its prevention and intelligence gathering to help officers.
“For us as farmers, the impact of rural crime goes far beyond the value of what is stolen. “Losing a tractor or quad bike can bring essential work to a standstill, while repeated incidents leave families worried about being targeted again."
NFU Nottinghamshire County Chair, Oliver Collingham
“The new Neighbourhood Rural Crime Team is a welcome step towards giving farming communities greater confidence that the challenges they face are understood and will be tackled.
“As a county farming community, we want to build a strong relationship with these officers, sharing local knowledge and encouraging members to report incidents.
“We look forward to seeing that partnership turn into practical results for farms across Nottinghamshire.”
"We welcome this investment"
The four officers will receive enhanced training to investigate crimes including the theft of farm machinery; wildlife offences such as poaching; criminal damage caused by off-road vehicles and fuel theft.
Southwell farmer Ed Hammond, NFU Nottinghamshire vice chair, said rural crime affected the whole community.
“When organised criminals target our countryside, they undermine people’s sense of safety, damage local businesses and disrupt everyday life.”
NFU Nottinghamshire County Vice Chair, Ed Hammond
“The launch of the Neighbourhood Rural Crime Team is an opportunity to strengthen intelligence gathering, identify patterns across incidents and work across county boundaries to tackle the networks responsible," he said.
“We welcome this investment and look forward to farmers, rural residents and police working together to make Nottinghamshire’s countryside a safer place to live and work.”
One of country's most extensive networks
The new team will have shift patterns covering day and night and focus on engagement, intelligence gathering, the investigation of offences, arrests, seizures and proactive operations based on emerging crime trends.
Nottinghamshire Police said they had been working for several years to improve their response in rural areas and now had one of the most extensive rural neighbourhood policing networks in the country.
As well as investing heavily in new vehicles and equipment such as 4x4s, quad bikes and night-vision goggles, the force has given additional training to officers already working in rural areas.
Rural communities need to report crimes
Patrick Lynn, who also farms near Southwell, said the news was very welcome and reporting and helping the police gather intelligence remained essential.
Mr Lynn, NFU Nottinghamshire Council delegate, said: “Now the county has established its own rural crime team, I encourage everyone living and working in our rural communities to report every crime and suspicious incident, however small it may seem.
“Each report helps build a clearer picture of where crime is happening, identify patterns and connections, and direct resources where they are needed most."
NFU Nottinghamshire Council Delegate, Patrick Lynn
“By reporting consistently and sharing local knowledge, we can help the new team tackle rural crime effectively.”
Focusing on most impactful rural crimes
Alongside more than 40 officers with enhanced training, the police said the Neighbourhood Rural Crime Team would provide an additional dedicated focus on “issues that are unique or particularly damaging to rural communities”.
This includes the theft of high-value farm machinery and equipment such as tractor GPS systems; livestock theft; fuel and metal theft; hare coursing and poaching; other wildlife crime; fly-tipping and the nuisance use of off-road vehicles.
Not just a stat
The NFU has said that behind every rural crime statistic is a farmer, a family and a livelihood under strain as farms were not just workplaces but people’s homes.
A great deal of work has been done by the NFU and its members to strengthen relationships with the police alongside campaigning across the region and in Westminster.
The NFU has consistently called for stronger legislation to protect farmers and rural communities including those across Nottinghamshire with notable success most recently with changes in legislation on livestock worrying, hare coursing and on machinery theft.