THE Kidlington police team have introduced themselves to almost every farmer in the Kidlington area.

They are trying to tackle rural crime, which includes theft of machinery and tools from farms, attacking or stealing livestock and other wildlife crimes such as hare coursing.

This winter has seen Kidlington’s rural crime levels rise, with increased thefts from cars and farms, as well as more oil thefts.

Pc Ian Ledger said: “We were getting one or two calls a month then in October we realised it was shooting up to several a week.

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“At this time of year it’s getting darker earlier, and these farms are out in the middle of nowhere so it’s easier for criminals.

“We’re a low-crime area anyway and I don’t think we’re any different than anywhere else in the country.”

He said that he expected the new year to see another spike in the theft of horses and tack.

“It will still be dark and they won’t have to hold on to it long because there will be a whole load of car boot sales for it all in the spring.

“People don’t want to security tag tack because it’s so expensive and tagging it reduces the resale price, but [not tagging] it makes it easier to steal.”

He urged horse-owners to call the police if they noticed anything different about their horses, especially knots in manes or ribbons and threads tied into tails.

“Those things haven’t happened by accident, clearly someone’s tampered with your horse so call us and we may be able to prevent a theft.”

Since Police and Crime Commissioner Anthony Stansfeld, pictured, was elected two years ago, Thames Valley Police has made rural crime a priority.

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Mr Stansfeld promised the police would attend every rural crime reported, but Sgt Colin Travi said his team was already doing that.

“We always had visited every one. You find out a bit more than you would from a phone call. It also makes people feel like you actually do care.”

But he did admit the PCC’s new priorities have changed how police interact with farmers: “That’s really changed how we handle it and keep in contact with our local community.

“People used to think we didn’t care about what happened to them, but we do. We want to know about their concerns. You can never take your eye off the ball. I’m still convinced there’s not enough reports coming in.

“There’s a lot more going on, stuff happens and people don’t tell us because they can’t be bothered or think they’re wasting our time.”

He added that rural crime is not merely the work of opportunistic thieves: “These are organised criminal gangs, very organised and very professional. It’s big business and they run into other areas of criminality, like drugs and exploitation.

“It’s international as well, goods are getting shipped out to North Africa and things.

“They are very heavily-funded and it takes a lot of man-power and investigation and time to lock them up.”

'It's good to see police responding'

ONE of Jonathan Smith’s low-bar gates was stolen from his field, which is part of Logg Farm in Oddington. 

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Farmer Jonathan Smith speaks to Sgt Colin Travi

To stop pedestrians walking in his arable fields, he has placed an old flat-bed truck over the gap in the hedges instead. 
Pc Ledger, who used to work as a farmer in Sussex and Buckinghamshire, said: “Whoever stole that could have sold it on as itself or as scrap metal. It’ll be worth about £350.” 
Mr Smith, who has worked on the farm since 1970, said: “The gate was stolen overnight. 
“One day it was there and the next it was not. I always tell the police these sorts of problems. 
“It’s good seeing them on the ground and coming out within a couple of hours.”

 

Victim saw crooks scoping his home

ONE lane near Fencott was targeted by oil thieves, who stole almost 30,000 litres of fuel from tanks outside people’s homes. 

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PCSO Adam Whiting speaks to resident Ian Charlsworth in his home

One of the victims was Ian Charlsworth, who lost £400-worth of oil in October. 
The 70-year-old musician said: “I saw a man in a white van driving up and down the lane very slowly. At the time I thought he was trying to deliver something and was looking for a house, but now I see he was scoping the place out. He must have known when the oil was being delivered. 
“The first I knew about it was when my boiler wasn’t lighting. Then I saw the top was off the tank and called the police. 
“I didn’t hear a thing, because the tank has to be a certain distance from the house for safety reasons. 
“I’m building a fence and roof around the tank now and I’m going to put security lights in.”

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