Farmers and game keepers join police in overnight operation in Wycombe to tackle rural crime

Last night (19/9), the rural community joined forces with officers across 160 square miles of the Wycombe Local Policing Area (LPA) for an overnight operation. 

Civilian helpers, mainly game keepers, farmers and estate owners were out acting as spotters alerting police to any suspicious people or vehicles.  61 vehicles were stopped and checked including one tractor, three breath tests were carried out with negative results, a small quantity of drugs were seized and intelligence was gathered throughout the area.  

The team were assisted by colleagues from Roads Policing and the Metal Theft Team.

Inspector Scott Messenger said “We are really grateful to everybody that came along for the evening, giving up their time to help us. 

“Geographically we cover a huge area and we are really pleased that members of the rural community are so willing to play a part in this way.”

A similar operation was carried out in April and more are being planned for the future.

Police win tug of war charity competition last weekend

Last Sunday (15/9), eight Thames Valley Police officers took part in a tug of war competition at the Hearing Dogs for Deaf People Late Summer Show in Saunderton.

The competition was set up by the Princes Risborough Young Farmers Club who took part in the competition along with the welfare team from Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and the police.

The winning team, police in Wycombe tug to victory, including area commander Supt Gilbert Houalla

The rural Inspector for Wycombe, Scott Messenger said of the competition: “It was brilliant, really good fun.

“Basically, I picked the team. I chose the biggest, fattest, ugliest officers in the whole of Wycombe.”

Charming! The team were knocked down a peg or two though when the other two teams joined together in one final game and beat the officers.

The Bucks Free Press reported more on the event.

Man arrested for hunting act offences in West Berkshire

A 25 year-old man from Cardiff was arrested on Tuesday (16/9) on suspicion of hunting act offences.

The call came in to police on the emergency 999 line at approximately 4.47pm and officers were immediately dispatched to an estate on the Wantage Road A338 area of Eddington, Hungerford.

Once on scene the man was arrested and three dogs were seized. The man has been released on bail until the 16 October.

Hare coursing and poaching tends to happen after the harvest season, usually at dawn or dusk but can occur during daylight hours and continue up until Christmas time.

People who poach and hare course do not consider the land they trespass on. Their vehicles can ruin land and crops and often fences, gates and property will get damaged in the process.

What to look out for:

·         Groups of vehicles parked up in a rural area, perhaps to a gateway to farmland, bridle paths, farm tracks or grass verges.

·         There will usually be estate cars, 4x4s or vans. They may have evidence of dogs inside like muddy paw prints or dog hairs.

·         Hare coursers often travel in convoy with transit vans at the front and rear and the cars in between

·         Lights or torches at night in wooded areas or across fields could be a sign of someone illegally hunting

If you see hare coursers or poachers or suspect this might be happening in your area:

·         Call 999 if hare coursing/ poaching is in progress or 101 to report activity that is not happening there and then

·         Keep a safe distance and do not confront the suspects, particularly if they are carrying firearms

·         Try to remember descriptive details such as what the suspects looked like, height, age, skin colour, hair colour, what they are wearing and the direction they are heading in. Registration numbers of vehicles and how many/ types of dogs are also helpful when officers are trying to locate the offenders.

Wildlife officer, PC Dean Kingham talks more about hare coursing on our podcast.

DAY 33: Stolen property recovered during patrols near Christmas Common and two arrested for theft of a motor vehicle

During patrols yesterday (18/9), stolen property was recovered near to Christmas Common in Watlington.

The discovery came when a passer-by found a credit card by the side of the road near to the beauty spot car park and handed it card to a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) who was patrolling close by. The PCSO then searched further along the hedgerows and discovered the discarded property.

The property is thought to have been stolen from a car during a spate of theft from motor vehicle offences on 14 September, when six cars were broken into while parked in the car park. Items such as handbags, purses and wallets were stolen. 

The property has been recovered and the owner will be notified.

Over on the eastern by-pass in Thame, a patrol car pulled over a vehicle after the registration plate flagged up from Lancashire Police that the chassis number and occupants should be checked.

After some vehicle checks were carried out it was found that the chassis number and the displayed registration plate both related to different cars. Two men, aged 51and 40, and both from Wheatley, Oxford, were arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle. The 51 year-old man appeared at Oxford Magistrates this morning (19/9) and has been released on court bail. The other man remains in custody at this time.

Meanwhile, PCSOs Sandra Syphas and Claire Smallcombe were joined by the South and Vale crime reduction officer Ali Smith and the Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator for the area, Ann Martin to deliver Smartwater kits to the Appleford-Upon-Thames area.

Halfway through the day, the team managed to sell 70 kits to residents (out of 148 houses, so they’re doing pretty well so far!) which are used to forensically mark valuable property with UV technology.

Residents in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse are able to buy the kits at the discounted price of £15 (normally £60) from local neighbourhood officers

DAY 32: High visibility patrols in hotspot areas of South Oxfordshire and the Vale

Neighbourhood teams carried out high-visibility patrols across hotspot areas of South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse yesterday (17/9).

‘Hotspot’ areas tend to be areas which attract certain types of crime. The team patrolled the Nettlebed, Goring, Christmas Common and areas along the B4009 from Chinnor to Watlington. These areas have suffered breaks to out-buildings and sheds, theft from vehicles and hare coursing in the past.

South Oxfordshire and the Vale have the highest rural crime rate compared with the other local policing areas, but it is the largest area too! There were 89 incidents reported in 2012/13 financial year and 78 incidents reported so far this year which shows a 12 per cent decrease at the moment.



Patrolling hotspot areas



Hare coursing and poaching offences have been on the rise though with 73 incidents reported this year and 58 reported last year.

Listen to our podcast about hare coursing to find out more.

To protect your farm out-buildings, consider these crime prevention tips:

·         Make sure all windows and door frames and in good repair

·         Fit good quality deadlocks which conform to the latest British standards to all external doors

·         Fit good quality window locks

·         Consider installing security lights

·         If you are interested in installing intruder alarms, get comprehensive advice from a reputable security company who conform to the national standards such as the National Security Inspectorate (NSI) or the Security Systems and Alarm Inspection Board (SSAIB)

·         Be aware of any suspicious activity or crime happening in your area by signing up to the Country Watch messaging service.

During the patrols, the team visited 23 farms to give general crime prevention advice and delivered 53 Country Watch packs and gate signs while out and about. On visits to Thame, Faringdon and Watlington weekly markets, 100 people were signed up to Thames Valley and Country Watch alerts.

DAY 31: South Oxfordshire and the Vale team visit local farms and attend report of hare coursing

Yesterday, in the first day of their summer phase of the 100 days of action, officers in the South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse policing area spent the day visiting farms giving out tailored crime prevention advice for specific farms, signing people up to the alerts messaging systems and property marking.

During the visits there were four incidents called in which required an immediate ‘blues and twos’ response, including one suspected hare coursing incident.

At around 7.20pm, residents in Steventon reported two men with dogs in fields. The team did an area search but could not find the men, one dead hare was found though. See our blog post about reporting hare coursing or listen to our podcast.

Postcoding valuable property is a useful security measure

Signing people up to the alerts messaging system has been one of the key elements of the policing work which has been going on over the summer. The system allows the police to share vital information like crime or suspicious incidents which happen in a specific area, instantly to the people who need to know about it.

Sending out instant crime alerts like this to people in specific areas means residents can be aware of what is happening in their area and report to 101 if they see something suspicious, which all makes catching the offenders quicker and easier! The more people signed up to the alerts system, the more efficient it will be.

Numbers for the South and Vale's acitivity for yesterday are:

·         63 farm visits

·         25 people provided with general crime prevention advice

·         148 people signed up to Thames Valley/ Country Watch Alerts

·         20 Country Watch gate signs delivered

·         18 Country Watch crime prevention packs handed out

·         1 piece of horse tack marked

·         7 pieces of valuable property marked with Selecta DNA or CRE Mark

DAY 30 EXTENDED: Emergency Services Day at Waddesdon Manor and Trading Standards car boot operation

Just to add on a little extra activity, Aylesbury Vale officers extended their 100 days of action activity over the weekend.

The team attended the Cox and Robinson agricultural merchants in Buckingham and marked 35 pieces of tack with security technology.

The Emergency Services Open Day at Waddesdon Manor brought the TVP horses, dogs, Roads Policing, forensic collision investigation, Ambulance service and Fire and Rescue Service all together for a family fun day.

Earlier in the day the team joined up with Trading Standards and visited the car boot sale in Finmere, Buckingham Market, the Church Fair in Buckingham and Padbury fair. Trading Standards will often visit markets and car boots to check for counterfeit goods such as pirated DVDs and computer games but also to check nobody is selling things they shouldn’t have like illegal weapons. Although there were no major issues at any of the events, Trading Standards checked lots of property!



Aylesbury Vale’s numbers for their week of activity are as follows:

·         8 arrests made

·         1600 addresses visited

·         Over 1900 hours of police officer and PCSO time spent on rural crime policing activity

·         717 people signed up to Thames Valley Alerts / Country Watch alerts

·         8 appointments made to fit CESAR technology to agricultural machinery

·         37 items of tack marked

·         89 farms visited for security surveys

·         2 schools attended for wildlife talks

·         3 ANPR operations with 5446 reads, 76 vehicles of interest stopped and dealt with, 5 seizures for no insurance and 2 arrests

·         18 heritage sites and crime reduction advice given to repeat victims

And a big helping hand from AVDC, Community Safety Partnership, TVP Crime Prevention and Reduction Advisor, TVP Volunteers, Special Constables, Mounted and Dog Sections and Roads Policing!



Patrolling at night



DAY 30: Aylesbury Vale officers work with Northants Police in cross-border operation

Neighbourhood officers in Aylesbury Vale worked with Northamptonshire on Friday (13/9) in a cross-border ANPR operation. It isn’t uncommon for rural crime offenders to cross County borders to commit these crimes (see the blog post about the stolen trailer found belonging to someone in Surrey!). This can make it harder to pin down the perpetrators and find the stolen items. Working with other police forces and sharing intelligence helps to tackle these types of crimes on a much larger scale!

During the operation, 28 vehicles were stopped and dealt with but no arrests made.

Meanwhile, the PCSOs and neighbourhood PCs went to Newton Longville in an attempt to sign up the entire village to Thames Valley Alerts. They didn’t do badly with 150 houses signed up by the end of the day.

On a mission to sign up the whole village

Neighbourhood team at Newton Longville village hall

The local school’s liaison officer went along to John Colet School in Wendover to talk to the students about wildlife crime.

An element of wildlife crime the TVP wildlife officers investigate is the trade of endangered species and taxidermy offences which includes the trade of birds of prey eggs, reptile skins and shells and ivory (see the massive elephant tusk worth £30,000!)

All the stuff the wildlife officers’ use for their talks and displays has been seized, most likely from airports across the Country, and are used for educational purposes.



A (very heavy) elephant tusk, tortoise shell and hippo tusk!