Derbyshire's rural crimefighters crack £120k crimes

Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner Hardyal Dhindsa hailed the efforts of the county’s first ‘Rural Crime Team’.

The dedicated team has been at the forefront of a series of intelligence-led operations to tackle rural crime threats including illegal fish poaching, hare coursing and thefts of quad bikes, tractors and trailers.

Mr Dhindsa said: “Derbyshire’s Rural Crime Team is everything we hoped it would be - passionately fighting the crimes that bring misery to our rural communities and preventing hardworking business owners from suffering unnecessary financial losses.

“The team has a strong and regular presence at farmers’ markets and agricultural events which has not only improved communication between police and our rural communities but has also led to increased reports of rural crime which have been subsequently taken up and investigated by the team.

“In particular, we’ve seen an increase in membership to our Farm Watch scheme, which is a fantastic crime prevention tool helping to warn farmers of live crime threats.

“Residents are full of praise for the team and its work and I’ve no doubt that it will continue to go from strength to strength in 2018 and I look forward to further successes in the future.”

The successful team has now more than doubled in size to accommodate extra investigative work and make Derbyshire’s rural communities safer. Officers are leading the way in the introduction of new crime prevention methods such as diesel dye and Tec Tracer forensic livestock marking to help protect rural property.