Farm Watch Scheme In Sutherland

15th May 2012

Successful Farm Watch scheme is rolled out in Caithness, Sutherland and East Ross.

Northern Constabulary is delighted to announce the roll out of the successful Farm Watch initiative to the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross-shire areas.

Farm Watch is already operating in East Division (Inverness, Badenoch and Strathspey) and allows Police to join forces with local farmers.

Farm Watch uses modern technology to pass out alerts to members by text or e-mail by police. Within minutes of an incident occurring, a message can be sent out, warning other farmers and making it more difficult for criminals to target several farms in a row.

As well as providing early information, and therefore allowing early police intervention, Farm Watch will also bring together often isolated rural communities as they unite to ensure that rural farm areas are not an easy catch or soft option for criminals.

Farm Watch creates a network of eyes and ears, all working together to combat crime and suspicious activity in rural areas. Police are fully committed to providing an effective police service to rural communities in a joint partnership with NFU. The scheme also allows to get quick alerts out to members in terms of any activity that might concern them.

Central Divisional Commander Superintendent John McDonald said: "I fully welcome the rollout of the Farm Watch Scheme to our area. This has been successfully operating in the Inverness area in recent months.

"It has been seen to help reduce the opportunity for crime to occur in farming and rural communities. It affords people to be encouraged to report suspicious incidents to the police as they occur and share the information with other Farm Watch members.

"We are fully committed to providing an efficient and effective policing response to and support for this worthy scheme. As well as helping to prevent crime, it also goes along way to strengthen community spirit, trust and confidence with everyone working together to protect their property and making our communities safe."

He added: "Farmers have a great deal of capital and lifetime investment, spread over large areas of rural land. Experience tells us that valuable farm livestock, machinery and equipment are vulnerable and portable, and can be relatively easy to remove from land and disposed of through criminal networks across the country not only by the opportunist thief but by highly organised crime gangs.

"Whilst livestock property can never be made totally secure, becoming a Farm Watch member undoubtedly increases community awareness of the issues, improves vigilance in the countryside, and reduces the risk of becoming a victim of farming or rural crime.

"I encourage farmers, or any members of the rural community who feel they may benefit or who may be in a position to assist the scheme , to sign up to Farm Watch and to contact their local Community Safety Officer."

A spokesperson for the National Farmers Union, said: "Rural crime cost the UK Agricultural industry some £50 million in 2010. Although we are still very fortunate in the Highlands of Scotland and are not as badly affected as some areas further south we cannot afford to be complacent. NFU Scotland and NFU Mutual Insurance Company are pleased to work in co-operation with the local Police to help keep the Highlands a low crime area."

For more information and how to become a member please contact your local Community Safety Officer, PC Carrie Shanks, Ross - shire at Alness 01349 883790 and PC Angie Grant Omotosho, Caithness and Sutherland at Dornoch 01862 810222.