First ever rural crime forum held in Wiltshire
Links between rural crime and organised crime groups (OCGs), creating a security culture within agriculture settings and the concerns of Wiltshire’s rural communities were all discussed at the county’s first ever Rural Crime Forum, which took place in Tidworth today (Friday 7 June).
The forum, which was created by Wiltshire Police and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon was designed to bring together residents and organisations from across Wiltshire to highlight the issues our rural communities are facing and to outline how they are being responded to.
The Rural Crime Partnership, which meets regularly with Wiltshire Police and is made up of representatives from organisations such as the National Farmers’ Union, the Angling Trust and the Country Landowners Association, put forward the idea of the forum as way to express the challenges faced by their members.
Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson, led a discussion around the fears local residents had surrounding rural crime, while Dr Kate Tudor, a senior criminologist at Durham University, spoke to over a hundred delegates about how rural crime and OCGs are connected.
Mr Wilkinson said:
“I have spent today listening and talking to farmers, residents and a number of groups based in our rural communities as they’ve told me their concerns about crime.
“Events like this, give us the opportunity to show the steps which are being taken to tackle rural crime and to combat the organised crime groups which, as we heard from Dr Kate Tudor, have a severe impact on our farms and our environment.
“Through working collaboratively across the south-west through Operation Ragwort, I want our rural communities to know that our approach is intelligence led and they can be confident that their concerns are being dealt with robustly.
“I want them to feel confident in the response from Wiltshire Police, and I hope that their increased engagement will lead to an increase in reporting and more successful outcomes”
At the event, senior officers from Wiltshire Police and the National Rural Crime Unit spoke about the strategies and tactics being implemented to apprehend those responsible for the most serious and prolific rural crime offences, with a focus on Operation Ragwort, a joint initiative across the south-west dedicated to tackling rural crime.
They also highlighted the importance of closer partnership working and prompt crime reporting to build a richer intelligence picture.
Superintendent Doug Downing from Wiltshire Police is regional tactical lead for rural crime:
“Through Operation Ragwort, we will create a richer intelligence picture across the south west, including our neighbouring forces in Hampshire and at Thames Valley, so we know where these criminals are operating, where we can stop them and how we can disrupt their operations.
“With the help of our Rural Crime Partnership and through the work we do with our rural businesses and residents, we want to make the public aware of the steps they can take to prevent crime from happening on their properties and how they can contact us with any intelligence they may have.
“Meeting with our partners and the public today will further strengthen our relationships with them so that together, we can drive out those responsible for rural crime from our region”
Other organisations present at the forum included Heritage England, the Canal & River Trust and the British Horse Society.
Katie Davies is the Wiltshire County Adviser for the National Farmers’ Union:
“As the first Wiltshire Rural Crime Forum, this has been a really good opportunity for farmers, landowners and stakeholders to get together and talk about the wider issues facing them in terms of crime.
“We’ve been able to hear from senior police officers, as they painted the national picture and explained how the regional strategy of Operation Ragwort worked.
“More importantly, we’ve been able to speak directly to them, the officers from the Wiltshire Rural Crime Team and the Police and Crime Commissioner about our experiences and put forward our views”
