Humberside Police crackdown on rural crime
The force announced plans to combat rural crime with £113,000 of new funding.
The new rural crime project aims to better protect farmers whose livelihoods can be impacted by theft, burglaries and criminal damage.
Sgt Kevin Jones of the Humberside Police Rural Task Force said: "The impact of rural crime can be massive. It cannot be underestimated. Whether they are a victim of a tractor GPS theft or a simple theft of some power tools, it's not just the emotional side but also the impact to the wider nation.
"If a GPS tractor receiver gets stolen it is not just a crime against the person but also an attack on the food industry, and the cost can be passed on to the consumer." #
The £113,000 funding provided by the Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Evison will go towards equipment needed to combat rural crime, including two new Polaris off-road quad bikes, drones and night-vision goggles.
The force say the new kit will also help them to look for missing people as they access more remote areas of the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Explaining the need for the investment, Jonathan Evison said: "You have got to have the kit to be able to chase the criminals because the criminals are kitted up. And these two vehicles which can travel 70 miles an hour, with four wheel drive and don't damage the crops are essential."
He added that there is a need for incidents on farms to get treated more equally relative to other forms of crime which are more widely reported and investigated.
He said: It's a commercial enterprise but there are families and children living on those farms so it's important they get exactly the same response as they would in the urban area.
"Farmers just get on with the job and they don't bellyache too much. It's hard work being a farmer and they're very vulnerable because their neighbours could be a mile and a half away."