You may be aware that over the past years, we have had a number of problems with thefts of slate and stone from isolated rural areas.

Historically, police have attended after the event and recorded details for a crime report but unfortunately we have only rarely managed to apprehend the offenders.

In an attempt to address this problem, we are looking to obtain government funding to enable us to carry out a number of initiatives and in particular one that appears to be working quite well in other parts of North Yorkshire.

The scheme under the heading of Country Watch, involves farmers and police working together to safeguard property.

We are looking for interested parties who would be prepared to give some of their time to help patrol their local area.

The idea is that two or more persons would book on with the police station and patrol their area, contacting the police if they saw anything suspicious.

The duration of the patrol would be for a couple of hours or whatever suited you, and would be done on a rota basis.

We are not asking you to get involved with arrests or any conflict whatsoever but just act as a lookout, as in a similar way that neighbourhood watch works.

We should point out that this scheme does not replace Farm Watch, which will continue in its present form.

We would ask that the following survery form be completed and submitted as soon as possible. We would like to know your feelings on the subject whatever they might be.

To conclude, we believe that this scheme would be very worthwhile and beneficial to all people living in the rural area.

We thank you in anticipation of your assistance.

Yours sincerely,

Wayne Smith
Andy Bradley

Crime Prevention Officers

Tel: 01756 793377, Extn. 3752 / 3712