Sussex Police out in force for National Rural Crime Week of Action

Officers used these opportunities to engage with residents, farmers, students and business owners as part of National Rural Crime Week of Action, which ran from September 18.

The force’s Rural Crime Team (RCT) continues to work with the community to prevent, detect and respond to offences in the countryside all year round, and Inspector Andy Barker has called upon them to remain vigilant.

“This national week of action gives us an ideal opportunity to interact with communities which may otherwise feel isolated or lack in confidence in reporting issues to police,” he said. “But I want to assure them that we are here and we will support you.

“It’s important to acknowledge that rural crime does happen, but it’s even more important to acknowledge the impact it can have on our communities.

“That’s why I would encourage anyone with any concerns, or anyone who has witnessed or fallen victim to a crime, to please contact us. The more information and intelligence we can gather, the more chance we have of protecting our rural communities and catching criminals.”

During the week, the RCT engaged with attendees at a ploughing match in Rodmell near Lewes and at the South of England Show in Ardingly, where they offered advice to people on how to keep themselves and their property safe.

They also joined Neighbourhood Youth Officers at Plumpton College Freshers’ Fair, with the aim of building a long-serving relationship with the next generation of farmers.

Insp Barker added: “We’ve established a brilliant relationship with Plumpton College and will be working with them moving forward. Our officers plan to give inputs to students in lessons and increase their presence on site to build bridges and work towards reducing rural crime across all counties.”

In addition, the RCT teamed up with partners including the DVSA, the Environment Agency, West Sussex County Council, Mid Sussex District Council, Crawley Borough Council, Horsham District Council and the HMRC red diesel team to conduct a roadside operation on the A23 near Handcross. This involved targeting waste carriers and heavy plant vehicles being moved.

It led to 14 vehicles being issued with prohibitions due to dangerous defects, which meant they could not leave the site until repairs had been carried out. These prohibitions ranged from damaged tyres to defective obligatory lights through to insecure loading of vehicles.

Insp Barker said: “I am proud of the work our Rural Crime Team does, and we continue to work together with our communities to ensure our rural spaces in Sussex are a safe place to live, work and visit – and a hostile environment to criminals.”