Arrests after rural crime crackdown
A police crackdown on rural crime in the north west of England has been hailed a success after roadside checks led to convictions.
The six-week operation by Lancashire Constabulary made 50 roadside checks in an attempt to identify travelling criminals and deter the theft of livestock and plant equipment.
It led to eight arrests for offences ranging from a theft of a Land Rover to the theft of eggs.
Officers carried out highly visible and covert patrols in rural areas while visiting farms, rural businesses and auction marts.
More than £20,000 of suspected stolen property was seized during the crackdown including a Land Rover and a number of transit vans.
A 25-year-old man has since admitted stealing the Land Rover.
Adam Bullen, of Middlesex Avenue, Burnley, Lancashire, pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking and was sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment, which was suspended for two years, after appearing at Burnley Crown Court on Thursday 2 May.
He was also banned from driving for two years, will be required to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and must pay the victim £250 compensation.
In addition, three people have been fined for theft and motoring offences. Three others are due to appear in court charged with going equipped to steal and a further three people are on police bail on suspicion of stealing from gardens.
“I hope it has sent a clear message to people involved in rural crime that both police and communities will not tolerate this type of behaviour and will work together to identify those involved and bring them to justice.”
Geographic inspector Graham Lister
The initiative was a joint effort between the police, the Forestry Commission, the Environment Agency and the Ribble Fisheries Consultative Association.
Farmers, landowners and gamekeepers were also encouraged to work with the police to help identify, disrupt and deter criminals targeting the countryside through initiatives like Farm Watch and Rural Watch.
Despite the success of the operation, police are warning that the fight against rural crime will continue and are urging local residents to be vigilant and report anything suspicious the police.
Sgt Dave Simpson who co-ordinated the operation said: “While the operation has only been running for six weeks we have had some really great results and have seen rural crime reduce.”
Geographic inspector Graham Lister added: “We used a mixture of traditional policing methods with more high tech automatic number plate recognition technology which helps to track vehicles used by known rural crime offenders.
“Our aim was to arrest those who came into the Ribble Valley to commit crime or at the very least disrupt their activities by seizing the vehicles they used. I am pleased with the support and comments of our partners in this operation.
“I hope it has sent a clear message to people involved in rural crime that both police and communities will not tolerate this type of behaviour and will work together to identify those involved and bring them to justice.
“We will continue to focus our activities on those criminals who persistently target rural areas so that we can reduce even further the number of victims affected by these crimes.”
To set up alerts on crime in your postcode visit our rural crime page and use our Crime Register
Watch our reporter’s video of her night spent on the rural police beat