Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust says crime has got out of control at one of its nature reserves. The charity called on police to help tackle a "wave of serious and organised crime" at Idle Valley Nature Reserve in Retford.
It said tens of thousands of pounds worth of items, including a tractor and specialist fencing, had been stolen in the last 18 months. “Whilst we are used to the frustrations of dealing with minor thefts, vandalism and anti-social behaviour such as fly tipping, the situation in the Idle Valley Nature Reserve and surrounding areas is now out of control," said the trust's head of nature recovery Janice Bradley.
"We desperately need more visible local policing to help stamp out these activities. The Trust has recently written to senior local police representatives and to the Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry to raise the issue." Nottinghamshire Police said tackling rural crime "remains at the forefront" of its activities.
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Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust said much of the cost of the thefts has had to be recovered from its core fundraising, leaving it with less money to protect and restore nature. Where losses can be recovered through insurance, the charity says it is counting the cost in significantly higher premiums.
Ms Bradley said the trust was aware of at least one incident involving a firearm near the northern part of the reserve on a public highway and of repeated incidents of dangerous off-road biking at the nearby Daneshill Lakes Nature Reserve.
“In the past few years we’ve invested over 300 thousand pounds to enhance wildlife habitats and update our facilities at Idle Valley Nature Reserve and it is soul-destroying for our staff and loyal volunteers to see our ability to protect and restore nature undermined by what we consider to be a wave of serious and organised crime," she continued.
"We know that rural crime is on the increase and blights the lives and livelihoods of so many farms and other rural businesses, and we welcome that the Commissioner has promoted a new grant scheme to tackle rural crime, but substantive progress cannot be made without more police officers on the ground, who can respond swiftly to incidents and help to prevent them.”
Nottinghamshire Police said it was "certainly not" seeing a wave of serious organised crime or rural-related crime reported at the reserve. The force said it received 17 calls and eight incidents reported over the last 12 months, none of which relate to serious and organised crime.
Chief Superintendent Sukesh Verma said: “Tackling rural crime remains at the forefront of our activities. Our neighbourhood officers do a lot of work with the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust and as part of their weekly neighbourhood engagement patrols they attend the nature reserve and surrounding areas.
“They are on hand to not only offer reassurance, including high-visibility patrols, but are also working with landowners, offering them advice on security to prevent thefts, and listening to any concerns they have, so they can take positive action if they have any issues. I want to reassure people we are working with our partners including Bassetlaw District Council, the Police and Crime Commissioner, and local businesses to do everything in our power to deal with any issues reported to us."
Caroline Henry, Police and Crime Commissioner, said: "Rural crime is one of my key priorities within my Make Notts Safe plan and whilst I cannot make operational decisions such as where officers are based, my office has been working hard to ensure we have the resources to give the best possible service to rural communities.
“I am currently offering my £100,000 rural crime grant, where charities and organisations are being urged to bid for a share of the funding to help make the county’s rural communities safer.
“On top of this thematic grant I have also funded several rural crime posts, such as a dedicated rural crime prevention officer with the £200,000 Safer4All fund, six new rural crime beat officers and 12 rural crime single points of contact who provide advice and guidance to control room colleagues to ensure the right response at the first point of contact.
“Investments have also allowed more state-of-the-art equipment including two 4x4 rural crime vehicles, thermal imaging goggles to help officers spot suspects in unlit rural areas at night-time, new drones, off-road motorbikes and both fixed and mobile automatic number plate recognition cameras.
“I want to assure rural communities that work is being done to protect them and to Make Notts Safe.”
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