Thames Valley Police launch rural crime taskforce to crack down on countryside offenders
Thames Valley Police officially launched its rural crime taskforce on Monday in a continued concerted effort to crack down on countryside crime.
The taskforce, which has been in operation since December of last year, consists of a dedicated team of officers focused on tackling serious and organised rural offences.
Officers have already recovered around £400,000 worth of stolen goods and returned four vehicles in their crusade against illegal agricultural transgressions.
Inspector Stuart Hutchings, the officer in charge of the new taskforce, 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.”
Rural crime typically involves offences such as hare coursing, domestic burglary, theft of farm machinery and a variety of other illegal activities specific to the countryside.
Many of these crimes are carried out by organised criminal gangs, rather than lone lawbreakers, Thames Valley's Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, explained.
He added that due to their nature, they’re often too large and complex for local policing teams to deal with, but also not serious enough for larger metropolitan forces to pick up.
Thames Valley Police’s rural crime taskforce aims to target this in between area by quickly reacting to instances of countryside offences, while also gathering intelligence and proactively preventing wrongdoings as well.
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire National Farming Union 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.”
The taskforce has already been in contact with local WhatsApp groups created by farmers and villagers so that they can quickly react to ongoing situations.
There are also plans to stage outreach events within the community so that rural residents can voice their concerns, learn about crime prevention techniques and meet the officers within the taskforce.
