Cumbria Constabulary and the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) have teamed up to create Country Watch West – a scheme that will specifically tackle farm based crime.
Launched today, Country Watch West has taken inspiration from the successful Country Watch Eden crime prevention initiative which was created back in 2015 to tackle the persistent problem of sheep theft in eastern Cumbria.
Spearheaded by PC Leanne Pettit with the help of NFU Cumbria County Adviser Helen Forrester, Country Watch West will begin life by sharing intelligence about rural crime with farmers on social media site Facebook – via the Country Watch West page.
NFU Cumbria County Adviser Helen Forrester said: “Crime prevention information, suspicious sightings and appeals for information will all be found on the new Facebook page. We’ll then progress to organising nights of action when farmers join police officers patrolling rural West Cumbria after dark.”
The new initiative is being supported by Cumbria Constabulary’s Superintendent Gary Slater who said: “We see this as an excellent opportunity to engage with the public to report suspicious activity in the rural areas within West Cumbria. It could be suspicious vehicles or people seen in suspicious circumstances or concerns over sheep worrying, which can be a particular issue at this time of year. Our Police Officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSO) can access the Facebook pages on their mobile devices when they are on patrol and update members of the public immediately using this social media format.”
Country Watch West will cover the policing areas of Allerdale Borough and Rural, alongside Copeland Borough and Rural – reaching the towns of Cockermouth, Keswick, Silloth, Wigton, Aspatria, Workington, Maryport, Whitehaven, Egremont, Cleator Moor and Millom and all points in between.
A logo has been designed for Country Watch West by Cockermouth School’s Daisy Holman, whose artwork was chosen by Police and Crime Commissioner for Cumbria Peter McCall and NFU Cumbria County Chairman David Raine. Daisy won a Book Token and fleece jacket sporting her winning logo.
Speaking about the initiative, Police and Crime Commissioner Peter McCall said: “I’m really pleased about the launch of Country Watch West – it is a great idea to use social media to appeal for information, raise awareness and provide alerts to farmers. We need to be always trying to develop innovative ways to prevent and tackle crime, and this is a great example of how we can work together for the benefit of the community. And well done, too, to Daisy on her excellent design, she was a very worthy winner of the competition.”
As part of this new alliance between the farmers and Police, some West Cumbrian police officers will also be given a crash course in handling sheep by an NFU member– just in case they find themselves having to move sheep to a safe location without any help.
