MORE than 100 police officers flooded semi-rural communities in Barnsley as part of the force’s latest clampdown on tackling costly thefts from vulnerable farms.
South Yorkshire’s 24 rural-specific officers, neighbourhood teams and mounted officers visited dozens of farms and stables in Penistone, Ingbirchworth, Dunford Bridge, Royston and Shafton last week all areas said to have been targeted due to their on-the-border location and easy routes out of the county.
The scheme dubbed Operation Reach was the second day of action in recent weeks, specifically aimed at targeting rural crime, and is a direct response to crime figures which show a steady trickle of burglaries and thefts incidents which have gone up from just 21 in the whole of 2016 to almost double that so far in 2018.
Chief Inspector Paul Ferguson, crime reduction lead for South Yorkshire Police, said: “Operation Reach has been about following up from two weeks ago, reaching out to the agricultural community, many of whom are isolated.
“Crime against our farmers is low in volume but high in impact it can cause significant financial impact and distress.
“Across Barnsley, officers spoke to more than a dozen key landowners who have previously experienced recent poaching and theft to offer reassurance. Further foot patrols were carried out at local farms where there have been problems with theft of diesel from farm machinery.
“Through Operation Reach we are strengthening relationships and lines of communication as part of the force’s effective and developing neighbourhood policing teams.
“The reaction has been very positive and we want to keep building on these relationships.”
Earlier this month, officers ran a proactive operation which resulted in the seizure of vehicles, drugs and weapons while last week’s saw officers making contact with local farmers, delivering crime prevention advice and reassurance about rising rural crime levels.
Police have secured assistance from the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) to train call centre staff, providing a greater understanding of rural crime, while cross-border work alongside West Yorkshire colleagues is also common following this year’s crime spate.
According to the NFU there has been a 54 per cent increase in insurance claims in rural communities in South Yorkshire in 2018 a figure PC Mark Winter attributed due to the costly nature of thefts of machinery including tractors.
“Rural crime is a big problem for those it affects as it tends to cost a lot of money,” PC Winter, who is one of the officers leading the rural crime scheme in Barnsley, told the Chronicle. “The impact is massive on farm owners and insurance excesses have been crippling.
“We’ve had previous operations tailored purely for rural crime and this latest work, which continues in the background, shows everyone is on the same page with regards to tackling it.”
