Rural Police Response

[Cab-over Pete]

Aye-up,

following on from my stolen trike thread, @traineefarmer asked if anybody could offer up a satisfactory response from the police after reporting a crime?

If you’ve received good service then let’s hear it. If not, let’s not turn it into a complete slating of the whole force, but just provide some basic details of shortcomings. There’s no doubt they’re overstretched and, in the grand scheme of things, I know a farm bike isn’t the crime of the century, but it seems some very serious crime gets no serious response and the criminals know it.

If we get a few pages of stories then it might be something TFF could present to the police as an opinion of their services which they can either act upon or ignore.

Maybe tell us the force you dealt with and name any officers that have worked particularly hard in the local rural community.

Perhaps someone could set up a poll?

Cheers, Pete.

 

[pgk]

We were robbed 3 times in 12 months, after second visit were offered smart water to go along with our liberal use of twose yellow paint and post coding everything that could be stamped. Despite leaving a number of messages pcso tasked with sorting smart water failed to respond. In contrast one evening somewhat later than usual I was down field putting out round bale, neighbour saw lights and reported, squad car blues and twos arrived just as I was parking up. Had one visitor around last year i had got in habit of sitting up in shed with dogs. Let them go, much cursing and shouting, obviously I went to restrain dogs and assist but chap just ran off declining any help!

 

[Tomtrac]

It is so annoying been charged on my council tax-for policing but the police seem so slow to respond if they do
Usual not enough man power and money in the police force and it seems to hard for them not having cctv evidence etc in the country
Whats the usual answer
Are any lives at risk
Have they entered your house
If its no too the two questions you dont see a police man
And as other topic if they do manage to bother and catch anyone the courts let em off with out too much off a deter-ant so they doo it again
Should fetch back puplic flogging
Or just chop a finger off with each crime or the whole hand lol
We used too no the local copper but if you manage too flag down a passing police car and try to talk too them they seem to think off you as a pain not someone who could help if you understand what i mean
But i supose they are just passing threw not gonna be based around for a year or ten

 

[Bald Rick]

Tbh I have found our boys and girls most helpful

And I include the armed response unit who turned up following a complaint of “shooting”

 

[renewablejohn]

Must admit I did get a speedy response to a suspected bomb uncovered on the woodland track. Turned out to be a discarded hgv filter case in the spoil used for the roadway.

 

[Still Farming]

£300-£400 on Council tax bill here too for Police.
You would get a good Security firm for that won't you???

 

[traineefarmer]

I think this thread started by @Phil P sums up everything that is wrong with policing in the UK at this time.

Un-sheeted load police fine

So, my mate has just been given an on the spot fine (£100) for having an un-sheeted load of spuds Anyone known what the law is on this? Is it a case of if there’s a sheet on the trailer you have to use it? What about trailers without rollover sheets? Don’t usually get much trouble from the...

thefarmingforum.co.uk

 

[farmerste]

we are 200yrds from lancs police headquarters, we were robbed in august, took tractor, gator and lots of tools. We recovered the tractor and gator ourselves (via facebook requests for any sightings) Police werent really interested, turned up 3 hrs later and gave us a crime refernce number and left again,never heard from them again until last week when we received a letter giving us our crime ref no (we had already been given that!!), a paragraph saying someone will investigate the crime very shortly ?? and a contact number for victims support.

 

[Robt]

Have you tried asking the NFU to help ???

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

Well down here in Sussex, East and West we have one Rural officer.
Now I am sure most of you will not know the geography of Sussex but it is 97 miles from the Hampshire border to the Kent border with no motorways and a dreadful east to west road network.
Recently the Chief Constable announced that there would be a big increase in man (woman) power with 6 PCSO's being moved to rural crime. Now I am sure this was meant to improve things but what the PCSO's are best at is giving sympathy after you have been robbed.

One farmer caught the P***ys driving round his newly sown Rape and lamping, so he took chase and phoned 999 and was told the nearest car was 50 minutes away. The vehicle wasn't taxed or insured and the farmer even found out where they came from, supplied a witness and all they needed to arrest them, but nothing happened.

This week locally lost of things have been nicked but up to now no one caught.

 

[multi power]

Police here are VERY efficient if you have a blown side lamp bulb
If you were burgled they will probably ring you back sometime in the next few weeks with the crime number

 

[melted welly]

Ours have been quite good to be fair. One night we had a transit in the yard about half 11, I followed them to get reg, then discovered I’d left my phone in house ?, just as they stopped and got out. Had a quick chat about how I definitely hadn’t seen their lost dog. Got home, called 101 and bobbies we’re out within 15 mins. Nothing was nicked but I got follow up call a few days later.

Also been quite proactive with the hare coursers, there was a persistent gang that got put away 2yr ago. Bobbies never made it out in time when they were active, but did manage to stop them going thru town. Several follow ups with ID cards and ultimately they had success.

 

[Red Fred]

Our neighbours were visited a few weeks ago and the thieves drove two new 4wd buggies through our fence and out of my road gates, leaving the gates lying on the ground and the cows free to walk onto the A road if they had noticed before I got there in the morning. I asked the neighbours if I should leave everything as it was until the forensic team had been out, but they said "no, the police have said it's an insurance job so we might as well just make everything secure". Heard no more about it.
Since then, I reckon at least 10 modern Gators and utility tractors have been stolen within 5 miles including the ones from both Ringwood and Fordingbridge schools, the new JD mower from the local school for handicapped kids, and the tractor from the RSPCA. Several other private owners have lost Gators/tractors/quads and some have filmed a gang of 7 coming back for seconds after raiding the properties a few weeks ago. Drones are also said to be involved. No arrests expected though.

 

[Goweresque]

I disturbed a pair of would-be thieves after dark at my place last spring, phoned the police with a reg number and description as they were driving down the drive, was amazed to get a call later the same evening that the van had been stopped and the pair arrested. Even had a couple of coppers come and take a statement that night. As it happened I'd disturbed them before they could actually break in or take anything, so they couldn't do them for anything. But as luck would have it they must have been on the p*ss earlier as the driver refused a breath test when stopped and got done for refusing to supply a sample, and I had a letter the other day saying he'd been sent down for 38 weeks. And banned from driving for 4 years. I can only assume that he had significant previous to provoke such a sentence.

 

[devonbrion1998]

Three issues here in the last 12 months, found our firewood processor 100miles away
thanks to the tracker, ended up in a pikey site, called plod and he says its a civil matter
so I demanded police presence while we go in and load it up which they did do, no one arrested or charged with the theft.

second friends farmhouse broken into, CCTV on the wall outside, the farmer says I guess you will need the CCTV footage? police said that will not be necessary.
Third, a delivery van backed straight into my main entrance gate, bent the gate, snapped the 8" post off at the ground and bent the paddock, the driver fooked off but we got a mobile phone picture of the back of the van with reg and all the lights hanging off, no action is taken what so ever... it's getting like the wild west
Their view is it's your fault when farm equipment gets stollen, the chain was too small the padlock should be better, no tracker fitted so on so on. then we wonder why rural crime has become the popular choice for up and coming Crimms.

 

[yellowbelly]

Our experience of Humberside Police's response has been well documented on another thread on here, but for those who don't venture into Livestock & Forage, I'll highlight the key facts...

• We've lost 15 sheep - taken alive in 3 separate incidents.
• Dumped offal (guts,heads with our eartags etc) found in local town.
• One night, I caught the gang's driver, the Police failed to catch his 4 or 5 accomplices, while they were on another raid.
• Arrested man had a makeshift sheep pen and a deep freeze full of meat at his terraced house in, the aforementioned, local town. The vehicle he was in, when I caught him, had sheep faeces in the back.
• A further man was arrested from fingerprints left at one of the offal dumping sites.
• Police didn't take any meat for evidence (went back 10 days later and hey-ho, it wasn't there anymore.
• On questioning, both arrested men, told Police "they didn't do it", so they were both released without charge.

Needless to say we we're not impressed.

Sheep thefts are still going on in the area.

 

[Campbell]

Have you noticed that there is one incident, day or night, that always gets a fast response ? yep... a car crash or RTC in the parlance, and often the quantity of cop cars adds to the traffic problem. I can only conclude from this that Police officers are available, from far and wide, should the need arise...

 

[devonbrion1998]

Have you noticed that there is one incident, day or night, that always gets a fast response ? yep... a car crash or RTC in the parlance, and often the quantity of cop cars adds to the traffic problem. I can only conclude from this that Police officers are available, from far and wide, should the need arise...

yes your dead right, but there must be a reason for this, I reckon if there is a threat of life there on it, anything else they're not interested, when I was a kid the local bobby would actually hide behind a tree to catch you riding your bicycle without lights they left no stone unturned in them days, nothing got past them.

 

[traineefarmer]

I have a good friend who is in the local force. His role within the police means has some interesting stories to tell. Obviously he's careful what he shares and I won't do him the injustice of sharing anything juicy he's confided in me on here, but in summary he has nothing good to say about targets and crime management. His main bugbears are the fact that stretched rural officers are often seconded to large urban areas when there is a big event going down leaving their home patches exposed for weeks on end. There is huge emphasis on the visuals - look good and effective in populated areas and their problems - drugs, anti social behaviour, domestic abuse - all crimes that will be very effectively policed. Rural crime is hard work, need huge manpower and in the eyes of the commissioners affects people who are wealthy and can afford the losses.

Unless there is a massive shift in policy we are doomed to keep losing this battle.

 

[devonbrion1998]

Our experience of Humberside Police's response has been well documented on another thread on here, but for those who don't venture into Livestock & Forage, I'll highlight the key facts...

• We've lost 15 sheep - taken alive in 3 separate incidents.
• Dumped offal (guts,heads with our eartags etc) found in local town.
• One night, I caught the gang's driver, the Police failed to catch his 4 or 5 accomplices, while they were on another raid.
• Arrested man had a makeshift sheep pen and a deep freeze full of meat at his terraced house in, the aforementioned, local town. The vehicle he was in, when I caught him, had sheep faeces in the back.
• A further man was arrested from fingerprints left at one of the offal dumping sites.
• Police didn't take any meat for evidence (went back 10 days later and hey-ho, it wasn't there anymore.
• On questioning, both arrested men, told Police "they didn't do it", so they were both released without charge.

Needless to say we we're not impressed.

Sheep thefts are still going on in the area.

dreadfull! we have had them around here now, got closer and closer and finally hit our village, not mine though, I have smothered my few stores that are left in multi-colored marker spray, they look awful, but if I was to nick sheep id be leaving them where they are.