Rural Crime Message – Non-dwelling burglaries

Rural Crime Message – Non-dwelling burglaries – the highest seen this year.

Policing Message from Sgt Sam Dobbs …..

“Further to my Christmas message sent out last week, I now report to local communities that since then, Daventry District suffered 17 non-dwelling burglaries – the highest we’ve seen this year. These crimes, targeting sheds, garages and farms, have been evenly spread across seven of wards including four crimes in Flore, and three each in Yelvertoft, Spratton, Moulton, Brampton, Weedon, Brixworth and Drayton ward of Daventry. Seven of the crimes have involved the theft of tools or farm equipment. Almost all offences have been committed overnight on weekends between Friday and Monday.

What the police have been doing:

We have successfully briefed a very large number of local farmers on what to look out for and what to do in suspicious circumstances

We have run a campaign to have valuable agricultural plant security-marked

We ran a recent successful operation to increase policing overnight in rural areas

Earlier this month, we stopped a vehicle towing a new cattle trailer full of garden machinery. The driver had no good explanation for the trailer or contents and was arrested and has been charged with burglary, now awaiting court with curfew conditions.

Last month, we worked with bordering forces to catch people handling goods stolen from this community at a nearby market in the neighbouring county.

How the public can help us

See how easy it is to see garden tools (like petrol strimmers, blowers, mowers etc) in your shed or garage. Ensure your shed/garage/outhouse is locked. If you lost your key to the shed and garage, how easy could you break in? If it’s easy for you, it will be easier for the burglar/thief. Are you insured for thefts without signs of forced entry? You may not be.

Consider increasing your shed/garage/outhouse security. For less than £50 you can buy and fit a movement sensor alarm which texts and phones you when activated. It is set by a key fob. Remember that a PAYG SIM requires a telephone call once a month, so you will need to test/activate the device once a month to force a phone call. You can mount one of these devices inside a shed, vehicle, container, cab or trailer. It may not prevent the crime, but may limit the loss.

Report vans and people which/who look out of place around farms and rural areas (999 is appropriate in these circumstances). Now that more people are reporting, we are able to put these details into the public arena and make life difficult for those people (often from out of the county) who are targeting our community. Remember that if you can let us have details of registration plates, we can use that information in our number plate readers around the county so we will be alerted when thieves move across the county boundary.

Report to us if you learn of cheap plant and garden machines being sold in the community, at markets or sales/car boot events. Handling stolen goods is an offence. Without handlers, there would be fewer thefts.

Let’s continue to work together to make Daventry District’s safe and peaceful community one which is also hostile to thieves.”