Farm visit for local police officers
Local police recently paid a visit to a local farm in Rathfriland to develop their skills in tackling rural crime.
Mr Barclay Bell, Deputy President of the Ulster Farmers Union, kindly invited officers to his farm so they could see first hand the risks and challenges of an agricultural and rural setting. 26 officers from South Down, Newry and Banbridge attended.
Inspector Leslie Badger, Banbridge Neighbourhood and Response, explained, “There was a packed agenda for the officers attending which started off with two vets from DARD delivering a short presentation on eartagging procedures.
“We were then given the opportunity to view compromised ear tags and tools that could be used for the removal of tags from both cattle and sheep. The vets also provided examples of movement permits so that we could make ourselves familiar with these.
“We took a short walk to a large cattle shed where we discussed health and safety around slurry gases. I delivered this talk, making officers aware of the relevant dangers and procedures,” he continued.
“The final presentation was delivered by PSNI Roads Policing who talked about Datatag and Caesar – tools to help prevent the theft of agricultural machinery and plant.
“We also looked at quads and trailers and Roads Policing highlighted areas where these vehicles can be interfered with and pointed out where to look for VIN plates. We also sampled TRACKER first hand and were able to locate a ‘stolen’ trailer on the farm.”
Inspector Badger added, “This was a very worthwhile training session and provided realistic experiences of the risks on a farm and also highlighted further steps we can take to detect, prevent and deter rural crime.”
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