Rural Crime Team Monthly Update

December 2022

Inspector Fisher’s update

The new year is upon us and for many it’s a bit of a relief that the silly season is over. The run up to Christmas is always a demanding time for the emergency services. Calls for service increase dramatically, so the Rural Crime Team were exceptionally busy answering 999 and 101 calls all around the county.

That said, there’s still been time for some excellent results. Over the last six weeks the team have recovered a significant amount of plant. We’ve recovered three quad bikes, a Polaris ATV and a mini digger, with a combined approximate value of £37,500, based on second hand prices. On top of that, the team have seized four vehicles for having no insurance. 

This year, a major focus for us will be disruption of criminal gangs. We will increase the number of warrants we execute, the number of vehicles we seize, and the amount of stolen property we recover, to starve gangs of their criminal earnings.

I wish you all a successful new year.

National teamwork results in quadbike and chipper thief arrest

We work very closely with other agencies within and outside of Sussex. Sharing intelligence and working together pays dividends in making the country a smaller place where criminals cannot hide. They don’t stop committing crime just because they’ve crossed an invisible border.

Another great working partnership came to fruition after six months of hard work behind the scenes to locate an offender for several thefts within Sussex. This included the brazen theft of a woodchipper from a location near Hailsham, and the burglary of a barn and subsequent theft of their quadbike near Wadhurst.

The male, also wanted by Kent Police, Cambridgeshire Police and Bedfordshire Police, was eventually found during a day of action in Cambridgeshire and arrested, giving us the opportunity to attend Bedford Custody Centre to interview the male about the matter. The case is now being put to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision and we hope to update you in the future about the matter.

RCT on Poaching Patrol arrest man for false imprisonment and drink driving

Spending all of our time in the rural areas often means we are the closest unit to calls for service in the county’s most remote areas. This was certainly the case when conducting anti-poaching patrols in the Cooksbridge area. Officers received reports of a female in a car screaming for help nearby and soon found them in a remote country lane. 

The woman was taken to safety and, with help from colleagues in the Roads Policing Unit, the male driver was arrested for drink driving, drug driving, racially aggravated public order, and false imprisonment.

Combatting illegal off-road driving

We have seen a big increase in off-road driving where permission hasn’t been sought. We are concerned that on many occasions this is linked to further criminality, whether it be hare coursing/poaching, or thefts.

Thanks to eagle-eyed and security-conscious landowners, we have managed to identify the keepers of six vehicles involved in the past month, all who have been sent Notices of Intended Prosecutions (NIPS) for driving on common land or not on a road. Some have also been sent NIPS for document offences. These are a fantastic tool, as failing to provide details to police is considered a more serious offence than the traffic incident, meaning that drivers, however shy, often respond. This gives us the opportunity to then deal with them not only for the driving offences, but for criminal damage or wildlife offences also.

The Rural Crime Team will, on most occasion, also issue a Community Protection Warning (CPW) to those found driving off-road in hotspot areas in a bid to curb their antisocial behaviour.

Keeping Rural Roads Safe

We always have our eyes peeled for criminality and never more so than when we are driving the country lanes. 

Denying criminals the use of the roads is a major part of our role, highlighted by a number of stops during December:

• A male was dealt with at roadside for using a mobile phone whilst driving, after not seeing two police officers and police cars within touching distance of his car whilst driving. He received a £200 fine and six points.
• A male was arrested in East Sussex for drug driving after passing a police car with a strong smell of cannabis late at night down an empty country lane. He can expect to lose his licence at court shortly. He was also found in possession of a small amount of cannabis and so was issued a community resolution for the matter, directing him to undertake a drug awareness course.
• Using our onboard Automatic Numberplate Recognition cameras (ANPR), officers patrolling West Sussex stopped the driver of a vehicle and dealt with him for no insurance. The vehicle was subsequently seized to prevent further offending.

• An official warning was issued to the driver of a vehicle who had been identified as driving erratically in Petworth, West Sussex. The vehicle had been exceeding the 20mph speed limit and driving without regard for pedestrians or other road users. The warning issued means that should the driver be found driving in a similar manner within 12 months, their vehicle will be seized.

Update on sentencing – male guilty of possessing crossbow, throwing axes and police-style baton

Finally, we can update you on the matter of the male we arrested last year in Flimwell during a proactive vehicle stop checkpoint. He was found in possession of a crossbow, a police style baton and throwing knives. He was sentenced to 26 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 18 months and had to pay £378 in fines and costs.

Bumper stickers to aid in crime prevention

With thanks to funding from the Police and Crime Commissioner’s (PCC) office, we have secured a quantity of bumper stickers which ask police to stop your vehicle between the hours of 11pm and 5am.

These are ideal to place on the outside rear bumper of your Defenders, pickups, tractors, or plant machinery and encourage police to stop you and check the legitimacy of the driver.

Contact us on [email protected] if you would like to be considered for a free sticker.

Crime Prevention

Our Rural Crime Team PCSOs have been working hard visiting farms and estates across Sussex to offer crime prevention advice. Numerous items of property have been marked with SelectaDNA and advice has been given regarding physical security such as alarms, high security locks, cameras and equipment tracking technology. For more information regarding crime prevention and security equipment visit Secured by Design

Cameras and new technology

The team have recently secured funding to purchase a number of portable security cameras. The cameras, which have the ability to identify and only activate for humans and vehicles, are being used in partnership with farms and landowners to combat poaching and waste crime offences.

Seeing in the New Year

The team assisted the wider police family with New Years’ Eve. Typically a very busy period for the police, the Rural Crime Team undertook patrols into the early hours of the morning looking for any unlicensed music events (raves). Whilst the weather helped and there were no raves, a group of youths were found and ejected from a derelict rural industrial site. The site poses a danger to anyone present, and the youths were sent home safe and well.

Dangerous Driver Prosecuted

A driver caught travelling on the wrong carriageway of the A24 at Horsham, and stopped by the team, has been found guilty at court. The driver has been disqualified from driving for 12 months and extended until he passes another test. He was also fined £519.

Drunk Driver issued Summons to Court

A driver identified by a member of public to be driving erratically has been issued a summons to attend court after she was found to be driving whilst over the legal limit of alcohol. The witness provided the team with dashcam footage which showed that the standards of driving fell far below that expected of a competent driver. We are awaiting the court hearing and will update you on the sentence issued soon.

Damage to Grade 1 listed church

Following the discovery of damage to a Grade 1 listed church in Chichester, a male has been identified and issued a summons to court. Working with the Church of England, the investigation found that the offender had painted the stone porch of the historic church, along with a number of headstones with an emulsion paint. The paint, which has caused in excess of £8000 worth of damage to the structures will need to be removed by specialists to preserve the history of the building and gravestones. We are awaiting a court date for trial.

Romance Fraud

Whilst not our normal area of business, the Rural Crime Team support our response teams when needed. Recently the team attended an address in Pulborough, West Sussex to speak to a victim of romance fraud. The incident has resulted in a loss of more than £240,000 to the victim, not to mention the emotional heartbreak caused. The team gathered essential evidence and the matter is being progressed by detectives from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).

If you or anyone that you know is suffering romance fraud, please contact the police immediately.

Find further information on our website: Romance Fraud - spot the signs and report it | Sussex Police

Stolen vehicles recovered

Following some excellent work by one of the PCSOs on the team, three stolen machines have been recovered from some woodland in West Sussex. A Gator, a quad bike and a mini tractor were found hidden. Unfortunately, extricating the vehicles did not prove straight forward, however with some perseverance and tenacity they were seized. All three were found to have been recently stolen and have successfully been returned to their grateful owners.

Stuck in the mud

On a wet and windy day, the team were called out to a local farmer in Petworth, West Sussex who had a new feature in their field. A 4x4 vehicle had driven into the field, believed with the intention of poaching, however had misjudged how soft the ground was. The vehicle sunk to the axles in the mud and is now unmoveable. The field is planted with crop and the vehicle has caused significant damage: it cannot be removed without causing more. The investigation into this matter is ongoing.

Engage with us

Follow the Rural Crime Team on Twitter @SussexRuralCops

You can report rural crime online.

You can also anonymously report rural crime online using The National Farmers' Union's Rural Crime Reporting Line or calling 0800 783 0137. This lets you give information about crime relating to:

• large scale industrial fly-tipping
• hare coursing
• machinery theft
• livestock theft.