Police stickers to help stamp out tractor theft

A new scheme has been launched to combat agricultural vehicle thefts
A new scheme has been launched to combat agricultural vehicle thefts

A new scheme has been launched by the police to help tackle thefts of agricultural vehicles in the Warwickshire.

Stickers with ‘Police – Stop, if moving between 10pm and 5am’ are being made available for farmers to apply to their vehicles, trailers and other road-going equipment.

If seen on the roads during these hours, police patrols not already engaged on calls will seek to check that they are being used by their rightful owner.

The initiative is based on a similar scheme which has been in operation with ‘cash-in-transit’ vans for many years and has been proven to successfully reduce attacks on vehicles from the security trade.

Developed in conjunction with Leicestershire Police, the new initiative is being run through the Rural Crime Project, which is funded by Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe.

It is hoped that by focusing on agricultural vehicles and trailers in a visible way, criminals will be deterred from thefts in the region and farms and rural businesses will benefit from the additional reassurance provided by the scheme.

'Reassure rural communities'

Officers have also received funded training on how to spot the tell-tale signs that an agricultural vehicle, trailer or plant equipment is stolen.

Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe said: “Similar schemes have proved very successful in reducing the number of attacks against ‘cash-in-transit’ vans and we think it can have the same effect on rural crime.

“By proactively targeting agricultural and other vehicles out on the roads at unusual times of day, we want to reassure rural communities and also provide the deterrence message that Warwickshire is not a soft touch for rural crimes.”

The police has worked in conjunction with the NFU to support local rural and farming communities.

Farms and rural business wanting to obtain ‘Police –Stop’ stickers for their vehicles should contact Carol Cotterill, Rural Crime Co-ordinator for North Warwickshire, by email at carol.cotterill@warwickshire.pnn.police.uk