DAY 63: Officers conduct farm security surveys around Weston Turville in second day of crime prevention weekend

Sunday (19/1) saw the Aylesbury Valey neighbourhood teams visit farms around the Weston Turville area and conduct farm security assessments.

Promoting crime prevention at Wendover garden centre and 74 people signed up to Thames Valley Alert

Evening patrol around Buckingham.

The teams were able to asses various security risks around access to land and boundaries, agricultural machinery, livestock, outbuildings and tools.

Our 12 point safety check also gives examples of things to consider when checking the overall security of your farm:

Nameplate: is your house/farm sign displayed at the entrance?

Fire hydrant: Where is the nearest fire hydrant?

Water supplies: Location of available additional water supplies, for example tanks, ponds, rivers?

Evacuation plan: Is a written animal evacuation plan available at all times?

Dangerous animals: Are stables/ stalls/ fields identifiable if you are not

there?

Flammable risks: What materials do you have on site and are they suitably stored away from fire risks?

Chemicals: What chemicals are stored, how many and where? Are they

marked with the relevant safety instructions?

Fuel/ diesel: Are supplies/ tanks/ pipes clearly marked?

Staff: Are your staff aware of emergency procedures and contact numbers?

Housekeeping: Are your electrics, workshops and yards maintained and kept tidy?

Public: Are you hosting the general public on your property? How many are likely to be present?

Agricultural buildings: How many buildings do you have on the site? What size are they and what is their current use, i.e. animal, crops, hay, chemicals, machinery?

DAY 62: Aylesbury Vale team has a jam-packed weekend of crime prevention initiatives

Aylesbury Vale began their winter phase of the 100 days of action on Saturday (18/1).

Here is what they got up to in pictures:

Signing up unsuspecting resident to Thames Valley Alerts at the College Lake Family Fun Day

Property marking 'off-road vehicles'...sort of

Signing up over 200 people to Thames Valley Alerts in Long Crendon

Visiting farms in the Haddenham area for security surveys

Talking wildlife crime at Haddenham library

Tack marking at North Marston village hall, assited by the mounted section

An evening of proactive patrols

DAY 61: Milton Keynes and the Mounted Section patrol the rural areas

Throughout last week, the Force’s Mounted section (horses to you and me), provided support to the rural neighbourhood teams.  More commonly used for policing events like football matches, protests in fact any event where a lot of people are likely to be congregating, the horses are a particularly handy resource for tackling rural crime as they are able to patrol hard to reach, remote locations where offences like hare coursing have been known to take place in the past.

The Hon. Richard Godber and his wife, rural NAG chair Susan Hughes, PCSO Pat Flynn and PCs Kirsty Wilson and Tim Pollock

The mounted section have also recently launched their own Force Twitter feed. This means you can keep up to date with what the mounted section officers and their horses are getting up to. To follow find their Twitter handle @TVP_Horses.

DAY 60: Thames Valley Police launch Operation Silo: an appeal for intelligence around illegal pesticides.

On Friday (17/1), Thames Valley Police launched an appeal for intelligence around the distribution and selling of illegal and counterfeit pesticides.

Illegal pesticides have been found in increasing amounts across the UK and Europe and Thames Valley Police has a particular interest in illegal pesticides not just because of the risks they pose to the rural communities but the links to organised crime gangs. There is growing evidence that the illicit activities of such gangs finance other serious crimes such as human trafficking and international terrorism.

It is not yet known to what extent, if any, illegal pesticides are being sold within our rural communities. Gathering intelligence and information is a vital part of the investigation, which is where you come in.

Things to look out for:

• Does the product look or smell unusual?
• Have you been offered a product which has been described as the same as another but at a discounted rate?
• Have you been sold a product because your first choice was ‘out of stock’?
• Do you have any feelings that a product you have bought isn’t quite right? Are there any unusual symptoms or irregularities?(clogged spray jets / nozzles) etc
• Is the packaging unusual or not what you would expect? 

If you notice anything suspicious about pesticides you have either been offered or purchased, please call the 24 hour non-emergency number 101 and mention ‘Operation Silo’. 

If you do not want to speak to the police, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

More information about illegal and counterfeit pesticides can be found on the Thames Valley Police website or read about the national ‘Watch Out’ campaign which was also launched last week.

DAY 59 - Milyon Keynes round up

Officers in Milton Keynes ran a second phase of Operation Ranger this month, to build on the work that has already been done and to push TV Alerts. 

This formed the mainstay of the PCSOs involvement, and they were trained in the use of the TV Alert app, which sped up the process of signing up residents. By the Friday of the Op they had managed to get sign ups in Hanslope, Haversham and Castlethorpe, providing over 5000 residents with access to the TV Alert system. 

There was also a real push to complete the farm mapping project. This will ultimately allow officers to know, through the use of AVLS, who is responsible and the contact for, the land they are on at any given time. 

Other work carried out involved an introduction via Country Watch, to Op Silo, and gaining commitment through visits to equestrian centres, for tack marking.

With cross border crime being a continual issue for the LPA, we sought to use the mobile ANPR system during the week. This was set up in various locations which are known to the Neighbourhood team as potential escape routes out of the county. Out of over 450 reads, 12 vehicles were identified with markers which were dealt with.

With it being hare coursing season, the mounted section provided a visible presence across the countryside. Pre planned routes were identified based on recent hare coursing reports.

The ‘off the beaten track’ patrols were repeated for Ranger 2. These operated on late shifts in liveried 4x4 police off roaders. What was new however was the addition of an unmarked landrover which we were able to use to both park up on, and get around the farms on a more covert basis. 

Ride alongs were also incorporated, with members of the rural community going out of patrol with officers and some of these have been reported favourably in local publications.

Finally, local schools across the rural neighbourhood were visited and a wildlife and rural crime input delivered to year 6s.

DAY 58: Chiltern and South Bucks continue crime prevention visits (and come across some unusual livestock!)

The teams across Chiltern and South Bucks have continued attending their crime prevention appointments. Here is what they got up to yesterday (16/1):

Funny looking cows!?

 At each visit, the team conduct a farm security assesment. The assesment is for farm owners, managers, employees and land owners to help them improve the security of their premises.

The security assesment has been put together by Thames Valley Police's crime prevention and reduction advisors and contains advice on low cost security solutions in a common sense approach.

In the assesment you will find crime prevention advice about:

• Controlling access to farms
• Tools
• Metal theft
• Agricultural machinery protection
• Field security
• Livestock
• Wildlife crime
• Out buildings
• Home security

Don't feel like you've missed out on a visit because you can view and download the same farm security assesment from the Thames Valley Police website.

Property marking

PC Simon Caddy being attacked by bush

PC Simon Caddy had one of these as a boy