DAY 5: Milton Keynes

As part of the Rural Milton Keynes Neighbourhood’s 100 days of action, Crime Prevention Advisor, Amanda Oak visited 55 farms in the area with the Neighbourhood Policing Team. Crime Prevention Advisors are able to offer specialist support and expertise in a number of different crime subjects.

The team gave specific farm crime prevention advice on access control, tool marking, fuel and diesel theft and agricultural plant machinery protection as well as conducting a farm security assessment and providing Thames Valley Police Country Watch gate signs.

PCSOs will also be doing a follow up visit to the farms to discuss opportunities to get tools and agricultural machinery security marked with the Thames Valley Rural Crime Partners, Datatag.

If you are interested in crime prevention advice specific to farming, you can contact your local neighbourhood policing team who can arrange a visit. Find out who your local officers are via the Thames Valley Police website.



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After the first of the ‘100 days of action’ stints, Sergeant Andy Paulden said: “Everyone who has contributed to the operation this week has found it rewarding and feedback from the rural community has been generally very positive.

“We’ve signed up more people to Farm Watch, Horse Watch and Country Watch via Thames Valley Alerts so we are able to continue keeping everyone informed about what’s happening in the area."

The team will carry on visiting farms in the area and patrolling off the beaten track roads.

DAYS 1- 4, Milton Keynes kick off 100 days of action!

Monday (22/7) saw the start of TVPs 100 days of action to tackle rural crime in the not-so seemingly rural LPA, Milton Keynes.

For the first of their five day stints, the Rural Milton Keynes Neighbourhood Team decided to intensively patrol 'off the beaten track' locations in high visability off-road vehicles, conduct Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) operations in hotspot locations and visit all 80 farms on the area to offer specific crime prevention advice.


Patrolling off the beaten track

 Here is what happened...

One of the most isolated villages in the neighbourhood area, Newton Blossomville, was targetted by criminals who committed 17 burglary and theft from vehicle offences both in the village and just over the border into Bedfordshire.

Since then, two men have been arrested and charged with 17 counts of conspiracy to steal. The two men Wilson Turney, aged 20, of High Street South, Olney and 21 year-old Scott Cannon, of Tabbard Gardens in Newport Pagnell appeared at Milton Keynes Magistrates Court today (26/7), Turney has been remanded in custody and Cannon has been conditionally released on electronic tag both until the 1 August.

A 15 year-old boy from Bedford Road, Olney has also been arrested on suspicion of four counts of theft of theft from motor vehicle, one count of burglary dwelling, six counts of burglary non dwelling and three counts of attempted theft from a motor vehicle. He has been released on bail until the Tuesday (30/7).

The ANPR operation resulted in six vehicles being stopped and dealt with for road traffic offences.

Although strictly speaking, these crimes don't come under the TVP 'rural crime definition', this is an example of how intensive operational work can not only build intelligence on the crimes Thames Valley Police are focussing on, but also detect other crimes which are of a serious concern to the community.

Sergeant Andy Paulden, who has led the team this week, said: "We're fortunate that we have a relatively low number of rural crimes happening within our area compared to other areas in the Force, however we acknowledge that when these crimes, or any other crimes do happen, they have a profound effect on the farming and rural community.

"We will be carrying on our high visibility patrols with the hope of disrupting and catching criminals who are of most concern to the area."

More information about rural crime, Country Watch and the Thames Valley Rural Crime Partnership can be found on the Thames Valley Police website.