Targeted police operations against rural crime completed

Wiltshire Police’s Rural Crime Team were joined by policing teams across the country in an anti-rural crime operation.

The proactive operations and community engagement events  were in aid of the National Rural Crime Network’s Rural Crime Action Week.

During the week of action, officers joined four other neighbouring police forces – Avon & Somerset Police, Devon & Cornwall Police, Dorset Police, and Gloucestershire Constabulary – to undertake an operation targeting road networks connecting Wiltshire with Gloucestershire and Somerset. 

The aim was to check vehicle identification and compliance, complete high-visibility patrols of local road networks, and stop vehicles towing machinery to check for stolen agricultural machinery. During the operation, over 30 vehicles were stopped, 10 rural businesses and farms were visited, and police teams engaged with rural communities to provide reassurance and understand their concerns in relation to rural crime.

Policing teams across the county were joined by Wiltshire Council’s Enforcement Team to carry out waste carrier licence checks, with the aim of deterring illegal waste disposal and fly tipping. This resulted in 45 vehicles being stopped over three days of proactive patrols in six locations, with 11 drivers being followed up by Wiltshire Council as a result of the stops. 

Neighbourhood policing teams across Wiltshire also visited multiple scrapyards across the county in order to check compliance with legislation.

Inspector Andy Lemon, Force Operational Lead for Rural Crime, said: “The key focuses for our teams during the Rural Crime Action Week were to patrol key locations to deter hare coursing and poaching, scrap metal crime, fly tipping, illegal waste carrying, and to increase visibility in our rural communities. 

"The additional patrols and operations completed over the week complement the work Wiltshire Rural Crime Team do on a daily basis to disrupt rural crime and safeguard rural communities across Wiltshire.

“We recognise the devastating impact rural crime can have on our most isolated communities and we remain committed to tackling rural crime. Since 28 September, the team have made eight arrests and seized five vehicles in relation to alleged rural crime offences. We encourage members of rural communities to continue to work with us by reporting any suspicious activity to us using official reporting channels.”

Wiltshire Rural Crime Team is a specialist team of officers committed to tackling a broad range of rural crimes including hare coursing and poaching, agricultural plant and machinery theft, heritage crime, livestock crime and crimes against birds of prey. Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Catherine Roper has outlined two key priorities for the team – to tackle hare coursing and poaching, and to tackle the theft of agricultural plant and machinery thefts.

Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson, who sits on the board of the National Rural Crime Network, added: “By taking a more joined-up approach to rural crime, I hope our communities have already begun to see the positive results in terms of action, disruptions, and arrests. 

"Just recently, I was made aware of a pursuit involving hare coursers in East Wiltshire, where all units were mobilised and arrests were made by our armed response unit. This is the type of response our residents want to see, and it's the type of response which will send a clear message to criminals about what they can expect if they partake in illegal activity in Wiltshire.

“Whether it's recreational crimes such as hare coursing, which damages crops and causes thousands of pounds of damage, or targeted thefts which can seriously impact rural businesses; through partnership working and intelligence led activity, our mission to disrupt these criminal gangs will be successful.”

People can follow Wiltshire Rural Crime Team on Facebook to receive the latest rural crime updates. For further information about rural crime prevention, or to report a rural crime, they can visit: https://www.wiltshire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/rc/rural-crime/.