Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe with Rural Crime Officer Carol Cotterill and Vicki Parry, from Warwickshire Horse Watch
Crime affecting businesses, farms and communities in rural areas were top of the agenda at the annual meeting between police, partners and the local community across North Warwickshire, supported by Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe.
Farmers, horse owners and rural businesspeople gathered at Kingsbury Water Park on at the end of November to meet with the Commissioner and representatives of Warwickshire Police and partner organisations including the NFU, Warwickshire Trading Standards, North Warwickshire Borough Council, Warwickshire County Council, Warwickshire Fire & Rescue and Warwickshire Horse Watch.
As well as local beat officers attending with the force’s Crime Prevention Officer, Mark English, the evening was also supported by the Inspector for the area, Dave Williams. The Commissioner’s Business Crime Advisor, Bogdan Fironda, was also on hand to provide advice and guidance to rural business on how to better protect themselves from offences including theft, fraud and cyber-crime.
The event was organised by Warwickshire Police’s Rural Crime Officer Carol Cotterill, who is funded by the Commissioner to work with communities in the north of the county.
She said: “It is so important to hold this event and provide advice and support for our farmers, horse owners and rural businesses. Incidents that occur in these communities can be different to those in towns and villages and we need to ensure that they have the contacts with the right organisations and receive advice on crime prevention and issues of concern.
“As we do each year, we have had great support from our rural communities and it was a very busy and successful night.”
Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe added: “I was really pleased to see a good turn-out of people at the event as it is vital that rural communities have the chance to engage with the police and partner agencies, raise issues and have access to all of the advice and support that is available.
“I’d like to thank all of the partner agencies who came to the evening for their time and commitment to tackling crime in our rural areas. By focusing on what we can all do to make life more difficult for criminals, we can help reinforce the message that Warwickshire’s rural communities are not a soft spot for criminals to exploit.”
To receive alerts on incidents and crime prevention advice on a range of subjects go to the dedicated rural website: www.warwickshireruralwatch.co.uk. Rural businesses can receive similar advice and guidance at www.warwickshirebusinesswatch.co.uk.
