Farmwatch sending a clear message to deter thieves in Northumberland.

Police, the NFU and insurers NFU Mutual have joined forces to help highlight the strength of Farmwatch across rural Northumberland.

Together they have produced 300 new Farmwatch signs for mounting to gates, fences and farm buildings and so send a clear message to would-be thieves.
The collaboration comes as a result of an increasingly close working relationship between the Police and the local farming community. A regular rural crime forum has also been established bringing farmers and police officers together every three months to discuss issues and share information.
Farmwatch in Northumberland is a longstanding success with hundreds of farmers right across the county signed up to receive regular updates and information about criminal activity in the area.
Neighbourhood Inspector, Kevin Oates, said: "The new and updated signs are perfect for spreading the message about Farmwatch and the work we are doing in our rural communities to keep them safe.
"Farmwatch is a really useful tool in the fight against rural crime. It allows us to be in constant contact with our most rural communities.
"I'd urge anyone who lives in rural Northumberland to sign up and play their part. We need as many of our rural residents signed up as possible as they are our eyes and ears.”
This is a view shared by NFU Northumberland County Adviser Samantha Davies who said: “Rural crime is a significant national issue and the NFU has been focused for several years on building better links with police forces across the country.
“We have just produced a rural crime manifesto for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections and that highlights the importance of good communication to encourage maximum community engagement.
“In Northumberland we are forging ahead and this latest collaboration shows what can be achieved by working together. Good signage is crucial to the success of Farmwatch as a visible reminder to would-be thieves that their activities will not go unnoticed. These signs are not cheap, but by pooling our resources we are now able to provide them free of charge to Farmwatch members.”
Rural insurance specialists NFU Mutual are also very active supporting Farmwatch and other crime prevention initiatives across the country.


Farmwatch members wanting a sign should contact either local policing team or their NFU local group secretary. Anyone interested in joining the Farmwatch scheme should contact their local policing team on 101.

Farmwatch

Last Friday I popped down to the Mart to meet the team behind Farmwatch. They are doing a great job in difficult circumstances and tight budgets. We had a good chat for nearly an hour and I learnt about the work they are doing, and objectives for the way ahead. It seems to me that certain things are crucial: we definitely need farmers to be more vigilant and defensive of their property, and to remember to report in both losses asap so that police can action the crime, and also sightings of unusual events or people in rural areas. We need to ensure that the tight police budgets are split fairly and equably between urban crime budgets and rural crime budgets. And we need to increase existing networks of information to be shared with the police. Oil buying groups should be sharing their email lists with the police and providing farmwatch updates as it quite clear that theft of oil, diesel and petrol is on the rise and a real problem in rural areas. The hunts are already very good at this. Oil buying groups should be chatting to their local police officers and see how they can work together to stop rural crime.