Officers are warning the public to remain vigilant after sheep were killed in string of rural crimes in Nottinghamshire. A warning was shared by Rushcliffe South Police after they witnessed an increase in rural thefts and other incidents in the region.
These crimes include two sheep being attacked, killed and butchered in Screveton during the evening of Thursday, February 23 or early hours of Friday, February 4. The meat was taken from the field in which the animals were being kept in overnight.
Other incidents include the theft of a GPS dome from Stragglethorpe at around 4.30am on Monday, February 27. These domes are worth thousands of pounds, and are essential to farmers for the working of tractors and other farm machinery.
An attempted theft of a trailer full of steel also occurred shortly after 8pm on Tuesday, February 28, but the trailer and steel has since been recovered. Officers are visiting farms and farmers across the region to issue advice and remind them of security deterrents.
This includes removing devices where possible if they are not in use, marking your property with a postcode and record serial numbers, ensuring the software is up to date, including tracking software, and marked with security warning stickers. They have also advised that where you can't remove a device, a lock or alarm should be considered instead.
Members of the public are also being encouraged to use the What 3 Words app on their phones, which pinpoints their exact location and gives it a 3 word tag. This is extremely useful for officers responding to rural crime where there may be no clear points of reference.
Officers have also attended recent Rural Crime meetings speaking with a large number of farmers in the Rushcliffe South area, speaking about a number of issues and concerns within the community. In addition to more farm visits, further patrols are also being carried out by local officers and from Nottinghamshire Police's Operational Support units, which will continue to take place over coming weeks.
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