New 4x4s to help tackle rural crime

Leicestershire Police has taken delivery of four new 4x4 vehicles to help tackle rural crime.

The vehicles made their first appearance at the North West Leicestershire partnership, rural crime prevention evening which took place at Whatton House on Thursday (9th May).

It follows the recent appointment of five new rural and wildlife specific officers - giving the force a total of 11 - and further demonstrates the force’s priority in tackling rural crime.

North West Leicester Inspector, Rich Jackson, said: “This investment of four new 4x4’s signifies how seriously we take rural crime. It is vitally important that we keep up-to-date with crime prevention and technology in whatever way possible.

“The new vehicles will allow our officer’s access to remote locations which will ultimately enable us to deal with rural issues better.”

Alongside the vehicle launch, there were a number of keynote speakers at the event, including Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) of Leicestershire Police, Julia Debenham and rural wildlife officer Tony Gallagher.

There was also talks from crime prevention company, Selecta DNA, the British Horse Society and Trading standards.

The evening was attended by around 100 members of the rural community and offered them an overview of how to help prevent themselves from becoming a victim of crime.

ACC Debenham said: “This evening highlights just how important to us fighting rural crime is. We had a fantastic turnout and it’s been great to engage with so many people from the community and gather their feedback; much of which was positive.

“I thought the presentations were really valuable in terms of informing others how to prevent themselves from becoming a victim of rural crime.”

Rural crime and wildlife officer, Tony Gallagher, added: “This is now the third event of its kind that we have successfully run. I believe it really demonstrates how far we have come. We have much better communication with the rural community and events like these enable us to get feedback on further improvements.

“The rural community is a fantastic one which shares lots of information between each other. The message we wanted to get across was to share that information with us. Help us, to help you.”