The volunteer led group applied for a Community Safety Partnership grant from the Humberside Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner and is receiving nearly £3,700 of funding to support their initiative.
David Horsley, Chairman of ValeWatch, said “Whilst many types of rural crime in East Yorkshire have seen significant decreases in the last couple of years, trailer theft is a notable exception.”
“Trailer thefts are particularly significant because they’re usually connected to other criminality - a stolen trailer or horsebox is often loaded up with items such as quad bikes, machinery, tools and equipment either from the same victim or nearby properties.”
According to data from The Equipment Register, one in ten second-hand trailers listed for sale is flagged as stolen. This unsettling figure underscores a growing epidemic that is plaguing the agricultural and equestrian communities.
PC Rich Fussey of the Humberside Police Rural Task Force said “initiatives such as this not only reduce the attractiveness of trailers to thieves but also helps us to reunite stolen items with their rightful owners even where the serial number has been removed.”
Officers from the Rural Task Force will be supporting the project by fitting the kits to trailers and providing other free property marking solutions to help farms and rural businesses better protect themselves from theft.
Leo Hammond, Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner for Humberside said “we are committed to ensuring rural communities get their fair share of policing. Supporting the hard working volunteers of farm watch groups, like ValeWatch, is key to that.”
“These kits are so important because as our Commissioner, Jonathan Evison says; the best way to support a victim of crime is to stop them becoming a victim in the first place.”
ValeWatch is the largest rural crime group in the East Riding with over 220 members and covers the western reaches of the Humberside Police area from Stamford Bridge, Pocklington and Market Weighton through to Howden, Goole and North Cave.
Members benefit not only from text and e-mail alerts about local crime and suspicious activity but also have the opportunity to access free property marking worth hundreds of pounds.
If you’re interested in joining your local farm watch group then please contact ValeWatch (valewatch@gmail.com) or the Humberside Police Rural Task Force (RTF@humberside.pnn.police.uk) for further details.