Rural crime team recovered £100,000-worth of stolen property in just five months
20th February 2024
£100,000-worth of stolen property has been recovered in just five months by a new police team in Cumbria.
Since the launch in September 2023, Cumbria’s dedicated rural crime team has been working to improve statistics and to keep local communities feeling safer by reducing and preventing crime, engaging with residents, and recovering stolen property.
The Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s office has released the team’s latest statistics, which read that the county had seen a reduction in plant and machinery theft by 10% in comparison to the same time period in 2022/23.
Between the end of September 2023 and the end of January 2024, the team seized six vehicles for use in crime and searched 18 premises, including six warrants. The officers have engaged with their local communities through dedicated WhatsApp groups hosting 978 contacts to share local information.
They also visited people who were victims of rural crime and offered crime prevention advice to reduce the risk of them being re-victimised.
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Deputy Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Mike Johnson, said he is “truly impressed” with the team’s dedication to their roles and how they deal with crimes across such large rural terrain.
He added: “In the last five months, the team have achieved a great deal and I’m sure the public will appreciate all their hard work. However, we do need the public, especially those in rural communities, to continue to report into 101 or 999 in an emergency.
“Without the reporting and concern raising from our residents, we wouldn’t have had such a clear indication of where we need to place our resources in the county.
“Our residents know their area better than anyone. I hope that by encouraging our communities to report and highlight suspicious activity, we can prevent crime as well as respond reactively after a crime has taken place.”
Read more rural crime articles here.
