Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Special police team set up to tackle rural crime
AWEST police force has this week beefed up its rural crime-fighting capabilities. Wiltshire Police has launched a new-look rural crime team to help combat a crimewave in the countryside.
When insurer NFU Mutual released its annual rural crime report last month Wiltshire saw the steepest increase in the West.
There was a 102 per cent rise in losses to the insurer’s customers in Wiltshire.
At the time, Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson said the rise in crime was worrying and that the force would introduce a dedicated team to target criminals who operate in the countryside.
Yesterday that force was formally launched, with a focus on agricultural, environmental, wildlife and heritage crime.
Made up of one sergeant, three constables and the help of 35 community policing team officers who work as Wildlife and Heritage Crime Officers, the team will be operating across the county.
An inspector will act as a tactical lead in addition to members of the Special Constabulary who will be used on pre-planned operations.
Mr Macpherson said: “I discussed rural crime in the county with the chief constable and the assistant chief constable, with responsibility for community policing, at a meeting at the end of July.
“We live in a predominantly rural county so the policing service must be tailored to the needs of our diverse communities. While it is crucial to prevent violent crime areas across the county, there is a specific need to protect rural communities from the distinct threats they face.
“The introduction of additional
dedicated officers to the team will allow the force to run extra operations, take geographical responsibility of areas to gain further intelligence, and reassure our communities that we are committed to tackling rural crime.”
Chief Constable Kier Pritchard said: “We have made some significant advances in the way in which we police rural crime in recent years. However, criminals are becoming more organised and determined, and are using more sophisticated technology so there is always more that can be done.
“The introduction of the new dedicated rural crime officers to the team will help us immensely in our ability to run projects and focus on prevention alongside our partners.”