A joint police operation across Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire’s rural communities promises to “clamp down on cross-border criminality”.
The East Bassetlaw neighbourhood policing team joined up with South Yorkshire’s motorcycle and rural crime team on Friday evening (4 July) as officers worked to disrupt and prevent rural and wildlife crime.
Targeting areas across the north of the county, police used intelligence and local knowledge to respond to reports and patrol main routes. The group were also armed with off-road capability in the form of quad bikes and motorcycles.
Officers recorded a number of successes during the operation, including:
• recovering a stolen motorcycle from Sandymount in Harworth
• dispersing quad bikes entering private farmland in Oldcoates
• patrols across Retford to target cross-border nominals
The aim of the collaboration is to proactively target cross-border offenders entering other counties in the hopes to commit serious acquisitive and rural crime.
The partnership work will continue to run over the coming months, and locals are encouraged to interact with officers whilst they are out on patrol, helping the force combat any issues that matter to them.
Chief inspector Clive Collings, Nottinghamshire Police’s rural and wildlife crime lead, said:
“Working with our neighbouring forces ensures we can share intelligence and information as we prevent and clamp down on cross-border criminality.
“We know from interacting with local communities that there have been concerns surrounding acquisitive crimes like fuel thefts, as well as more traditional rural crimes such as hare coursing and illegal use of off-road bikes and quads on farmland.
“That’s why we will continue to run operations with partners to prevent crime before it occurs and keep the pressure on cross-border criminals.
“Tackling rural crime remains a priority for us and I encourage the people of Bassetlaw to continue speaking and working with us to help tackle these issues.”
South Yorkshire Police’s motorcycle and rural crime team Inspector Kieran Frain said:
“Our teams have great capability, and our officers are equipped with the tools to be effective in tackling all criminality.
“We know that criminals operate across force borders using rural networks to commit their crime, but we are committed to intercepting them and ensuring that they face the consequences of their actions by working in close partnership with other forces, including Nottinghamshire. Working together with other forces, sharing information and intelligence, and combining our officers and equipment, we are stronger in our efforts.
“We urge you to continue reporting behaviour to us. Your intelligence helps us shape further operations and know where to focus our efforts to make a difference.”
