Donated Land Rover is latest police weapon in fight against rural crime in East Lancashire (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Donated Land Rover is latest police weapon in fight against rural crime in East Lancashire
1:00pm Monday 15th October 2012 in News
By Tyrone Marshall, Reporter
PCSOs Rachel Lonsdale and Dave Johnson with the new vehicle
POLICE have been given a 4x4 vehicle to help the fight against crime in rural parts of Burnley.
The Land Rover has been donated by water firm United Utilities so neighbourhood officers can overcome the rugged terrain.
It will be used by community beat managers and Police Community Support Officers covering the Cliviger, Worsthorne and Briercliffe areas.
PCSO for Cliviger and Worsthorne Dave Johnson said: “This is excellent news for residents living in the more remote areas of the borough.
“The Land Rover will be an extremely valuable asset to the neighbourhood policing team and will help us to be more accessible to the community.
“It will ensure the officers can patrol their rural areas and engage with even more residents on a regular basis.
“We will continue to work closely with local farmers and agencies as part of the area’s Rural Watch scheme.”
Rural crime in East Lancashire costs the farming community around £8million, according to NFU Mutual. The cost to UK agriculture is estimated to be £47.7million.
Other crime prevention measures have included the CESAR scheme, which involves marking farming equipment with a unique identification.
Stolen equipment registered with the system is six times more likely to be recovered and four times less likely to be stolen in the first place.
The action comes as part of the area’s Rural Watch scheme which allows police to share information with farmers, stable owners and other businesses that are otherwise hard to reach because of their rural location and working conditions.
Earlier this month officers stop checked 688 vehicles, seizing six of them and made 16 arrests during Operation Firecrest.
Almost £16,000 of property was recovered, more than 55 rural crime suspects were visited and handed warning letters and officers also visited 22 scrap yards in Lancashire.
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