News: Police have appealed for rural residents in north Northumberland to be on their guard against travelling criminals.

Police call on rural residents to be on their guard as dark nights draw in

Police have appealed for rural residents in north Northumberland to be on their guard against travelling criminals.

It follows reports of suspected travelling criminals targeted quad bikes and farm machinery in the area.

Officers are also aware that the darker autumn evenings could provide more opportunity for poachers, while the recent fuel crisis could lead to an increase in fuel thefts.

Sgt Duncan Budge told a meeting of Wooler Parish Council: “We believe we’ve potentially had some travelling criminals in the area targeting quad bikes and farm machinery which the rural crime team are investigating.

"There are operations which I can’t say too much about but I can assure you that there are things being done behind the scenes in relation to intelligence-led information on people coming into the area.”

Insp John Swan, neighbourhood policing inspector, also revealed that training had been given to ensure there is the correct control room response to reports of suspicious activity in rural areas.

Link: https://www.northumberlandgazette.c...on-their-guard-as-dark-nights-draw-in-3412659
 
Last edited:
i dont think you have a clue what we have to put up with , with the piky barstewards down here!

So sarky comments online is going to fix it? You knew exactly what the phrase "be on your guard" means; and obviously you know that you can't shoot people.

The problem is all over the country, not just where ever you are.

Try being constructive, rather cantankerous.
 

teslacoils

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
We all know how to fix it. It's send co19 and a load of specialist dog handlers into every camp in the country and turn them all upside down while the locals follow and identify all their stolen quads, generators, flatbed trailers; dip each transit for red, check they are all taxes tested; then check the last six years of their benefits, vat, and tax records for their shoddy drive tarmaccing or "tree surgery".

Too harsh? To expect the authorities to do their jobs?
 
We all know how to fix it. It's send co19 and a load of specialist dog handlers into every camp in the country and turn them all upside down while the locals follow and identify all their stolen quads, generators, flatbed trailers; dip each transit for red, check they are all taxes tested; then check the last six years of their benefits, vat, and tax records for their shoddy drive tarmaccing or "tree surgery".

Too harsh? To expect the authorities to do their jobs?

So while you wait for this to happen (and I think you could be waiting a while to be quite frank), have you done anything else to help fix the problem?
 

teslacoils

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Added cameras - caught folk on it. Police not interested.

Turned farm into fort Knox.

Your constant turning it around on us would be considered victim blaming if it were a woman walking down the street minding their own business. We should not have to alter our behaviour to get the authorities to do their job properly. We should not need to be looking at funding private security patrols to protect ourselves from known scumbags or to feel safe in our isolated houses at night.
 
Added cameras - caught folk on it. Police not interested.

Turned farm into fort Knox.

Your constant turning it around on us would be considered victim blaming if it were a woman walking down the street minding their own business. We should not have to alter our behaviour to get the authorities to do their job properly. We should not need to be looking at funding private security patrols to protect ourselves from known scumbags or to feel safe in our isolated houses at night.

Unfortunately, an ideal world and reality are two separate things. And the idea that victims are entirely blameless is popular but a misconception. If I walk down the street flashing my wealth, I should not be surprised if I get mugged. Everyone should be able to walk down the street without fear of crime or become the victim of actual crime, but that is not reality. When I travel to far off places where there is a high risk of terrorism or organised crime, I advise clients on appropriate security risk management (which sometimes includes taking me with them) and I also take the necessary security precautions.

Without a doubt, crime should not happen, but in the real world it does happen; and there are things we can do to reduce our risks. Being ignorant of potential crime or naïve does not prevent crime or make it only the fault/responsibility of the criminal's. Sad, but true.

It is complex, and there are many many contributing factors that have led us to this sorry situation we have all found ourselves in.

And we all have to contribute to the solution. Any belief that it is also entirely the fault of the police is also wrong; though I fully agree that more - a lot more - can be done. But the police aren't going to do that without understanding the issues, in the way that they go about understanding issues.

I completely agree with you, that the police should be more interested, and you should not have to turn your property in to Fort Knox (but even Fort Knox is not impenetrable). Your profile states that you're in Lincolnshire, and the Lincs Police are quite active in tackling rural crime. I'm sure individual officer's would like to do more, but they can't at the moment.

For the record, I am ex-military, not ex-police in case you (and others) where thinking I was running a police fan club. I am not. But I do appreciate that they are not in a good place and have a difficult job to do, stuck between the criminals, restrictive laws, limited funding/resourcing and an irate public that are only interested in their own issues and do not always look at the bigger picture.

Farmers, and the rural community (and I include myself in this, as the son of a farmer, coming from a long line of farmers on both sides of the family since we first landed on UK soil back in 866 AD, or when ever) are pragmatic, and don't like wasting our time on something not worth the effort when getting nothing back. But I do feel that we have got ourselves in to a “catch twenty-two” somewhat. Farmers and rural communities reduced reporting incidents to the police as it was too often the perception that the police were only vaguely interested and rarely attended post-incident; due to disproportionally low reporting, rural crime was generally low priority within the different forces (as an organisation, not by individual officers); and therefore rural crime teams were poorly funded resulting in less resources to respond to and manage rural crime as effectively as would have been liked, further compounding the reluctance of farmers and rural communities to report crimes – in some respects, our own worst enemies, as we say in Yorkshire “shy bairns get nowt”, or conversely, “the squeaky wheel gets the oil”.
 
Last edited:

teslacoils

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Certainly the police response in lincs has improved over the last couple of years.

I'm not bashing them - I'm a huge fan of individual coppers. But the organisation is simply not able to see the wood from the trees. It's the same folk, all the time, doing these crimes. When they catch the father, one of the sons steps up.

When we ring in a crime, with a reg number and description, that should be enough- given every main road out of Lincolnshire has an anpr camera on it - to pull that vehicle. I'm pretty certain that a thorough search of a suspected hare coursers car is going to find something they can prosecute for. I've got to the point now where, if I see a known offender in town with a faulty brake light then I'll ring it in. Petty isn't it. But higher chance of getting done for that than hunting mammals with dogs.

Only other step left is to use my spare time to become a magistrate.
 
The problem we're facing, the criminals are changing plates quite frequently, to avoid ANPR - literally, pull out of sight of where the crime/offence occurred, then change plates.

At casual glance to passing motorists/coppers it avoids suspicion; and ANPR is not looking for it.

Not easy for law enforcement.

It may feel petty to report broken lights, it is the right thing to do. The criminals would have no qualms throwing a stone through your window and harass you and your family, so yes - hound them back and report every little thing. Make life difficult for them too (so long as you stick to the law yourself of course).
 

teslacoils

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Does anpr not trigger or flag up vehicles where the plate cannot be read?

Example yesterday was of a 4*4 with its number plate tucked under its windscreen wiper.
 
I can't honestly answer that correctly, but I don't think it ANPR can pick up on unread/empty/muddy number plates. I'll look in to it and see if I can find out and get back to you.

I am aware that technology is/has been in development for cameras to detect, record and report a wide range of offences other than speeding, such as drivers on the phone and not wearing seat belts, but I'm not sure what has been rolled out and is operational yet.

If it did work, ANPR would "ping" an alert that a car matching a description and without number plate has been spotted, and when/where it was, but it would still be difficult to prove it was that exact car (if a number plate has then been put on to the vehicle) and who was inside the vehicle; bearing in mind that it is the car and it's location that is identified, not necessarily the car's occupants.

It's an evidential ball-ache that has to stand up to court and defence solicitor scrutiny.

NPCC ANPR Link: https://www.npcc.police.uk/FreedomofInformation/ANPR.aspx

College of Policing ANPR Link: https://www.app.college.police.uk/a...tive-strategies/investigative-strategiesanpr/

Police.UK ANPR Link: https://www.police.uk/advice/advice...fety/automatic-number-plate-recognition-anpr/

DVSA ANPR Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...-uses-automatic-number-plate-recognition-anpr
 
Last edited:
Tags
quad

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.2%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 65 34.8%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,289
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top