A POLICE action plan which has been drawn up to combat rural crime in Barnsley’s on-the-border villages will be revealed to residents this week.
Shafton, which has been named as a hotspot area due to its close proximity to the West Yorkshire boundary, will be visited by Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, on Tuesday evening.
He will unveil the police’s plan to reduce incidents in which ‘easy target’ farms and stables have been targeted - issues which have been on the rise since last year - at Shafton Community Centre on Tuesday at 7pm.
The meeting follows crunch talks held between Dr Billings, Ch Insp Mark James and representatives from the National Farmers’ Union last month, who urged the force to step up to provide reassurance to out-of-town communities such as Shafton and Penistone where the majority of incidents have occurred.
“Although South Yorkshire Police is predominantly an urban force, there are large areas of the county that are rural and they need to have their fair share of police resources,” Dr Billings said.
“We are taking fresh initiatives to tackle rural crime and currently 24 officers are being trained to have a rural focus. The force has also recently run a rural-specific operation in the Penistone area to engage with the farming community, and more are planned for the future.”
Equine-related thefts are set to form a big part of Tuesday’s meeting, which has seen some stable owners in Shafton left thousands of pounds out of pocket following break-ins.
David Luscombe, from crime prevention company Datatag, will join Dr Billings to speak to residents about what they can do to protect themselves.
Dave North, chairman of Shafton Parish Council, said: “We’re an easy target because of the location which is right on the border with West Yorkshire. It is semi-rural and there’s easy access into neighbouring villages, so they can get away.
“Dr Billings came to a meeting in Shafton a year or so ago to tell us about police changes and it was well-received by everyone who attended. I’m sure we’ll have another good turnout and I encourage anyone who wants to know more about local policing and how it affects them to come along.”
