Shropshire residents urged to get involved with Rural Watch scheme
Shropshire residents are being urged to get involved in a watch scheme specifically designed for residents in rural areas.
This week is National Wildlife and Rural Crime Week with a host of initiatives taking place throughout the county.
To support the week’s activity, police in Shropshire are launching ‘Rural Watch’ which sees local communities work together to tackle rural issues.
The aim of the initiative is to encourage members of the public to be more vigilant and to report any suspicious information or anything that seems out of the ordinary in their local community.
Local residents will work alongside police to help police gather information and intelligence.
Shropshire Rural and Business Officer, Graham Donaldson, said: “The benefit of a watch scheme is the intelligence gathered and reported by the local community.
“Good intelligence can aid investigations and potentially result in disrupting criminals, such as seizing a vehicle with no insurance or the effective use of police powers of stop and search.
“The public know the communities they live in better than anyone, and will usually notice suspicious behaviour. Without the reporting of suspicious circumstances or crimes, it is difficult for the police to identify or tackle problem areas.
“I would encourage anyone who is interested in setting up a scheme in their local area to get in contact with me and we can discuss this in more detail.”
To find out more about Rural Watch contact Graham Donaldson via email graham.donaldson2261853@westmercia.pnn.police.co.uk
