A POLICE action plan to tackle rising rural crime has started to take effect in Barnsley’s on-the-border communities where farms have lost thousands of pounds worth of high value machinery.
With a focus on Penistone, which was identified as a vulnerable area, officers are now conducting more joint operations and speaking to farmers who have been hit hard by costly thefts.
Thieves targeting farms and stables have struck at a number of locations near Penistone including Ingbirchworth and Dunford Bridge, according to police figures, although Billingley, Shafton and Royston have also fallen victim.
It is believed each area, which are all on and near the West Yorkshire border, have been targeted because of easy routes out of the county and the confusion over which force is responsible.
PC Mark Winter, who is one of the officers leading the rural crime scheme, said: “Penistone covers 52 per cent of the whole Barnsley district, so it’s a huge area to police and it’s one with a lot of countryside and pockets of villages dotted about.
“We know rural crime is a big problem for a lot of people and it’s cost a lot of money. The impact is massive on farm owners for example we’ve heard about insurance excesses rising to £20,000 on a £100,000 tractor so thefts have the potential to put them out of business. We’re working with the National Farmers’ Union as well as West Yorkshire Police as although Penistone has many rural farms, the main roads often cross boundaries so information sharing on suspicious vehicles is something that’s done regularly.”
According to the NFU, there has been a 54 per cent increase in insurance claims in rural communities in South Yorkshire.
As a response, South Yorkshire Police allocated funding for 24 officers to be trained up to have a focus on combatting incidents to work alongside West Yorkshire Police’s rural-specific team.
Minette Batters, deputy president of the NFU, said: “Farmers are reporting dramatic increases in incidents and are feeling more vulnerable. There are many good examples of police forces taking action to deal with rural crime, but we believe more joined-up thinking is needed from neighbouring forces to address the issue.
“Farmers should not be seen as a soft target for criminals.”
The police’s new tool SYP Alerts is seen as the key to keeping farmers in the loop and a push to get more people signing up to the service is underway.
PC Winter added: “It’s one of the biggest weapons we have as although more strategic patrols and operations are being done, farmers can sign up to receive alerts about their specific area.”
