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Sergeant Doug Grant introduced himself to the Forum as the recently appointed Neighbourhood Sergeant for Maidenhead South and Windsor East. He explained tackling rural crime was a new concept for him, and he was in the process of compiling a problem profile relating to rural crime in order to identify particular issues and where resources might be needed. He said crimes would be reported in different ways; some incidents might be reported as antisocial behaviour rather than as a crime being committed. Members were reminded to call 999 if a crime was in progress, or 101 if there was something to be reported that did not require immediate intervention.

William Emmett said there had been six incidents on his land in the previous two weeks, relating to hare coursing or people driving vehicles over farmland. He said hare coursing was difficult to counteract because those involved were often able to get away quickly. However there had been police intervention at one incident where he had managed to keep the hare coursers distracted while officers arrived. William Emmett said he was aware of a Subaru Forester vehicle that had been seen at hare coursing events and would pass on the registration plate once he was able to confirm it. He said tractor theft was also an issue. William Emmett said he was pleased Sergeant Grant was taking the issue of rural crime seriously and said the farming community would work with the police if they responded to them. Sergeant Grant said he had ideas on improving lines of communication with the farming community. He said he would be the main contact point for rural crime in the Royal Borough.

Regarding theft of farming machinery, Sergeant Grant said this was being monitored as a matter of urgency to see if there was a pattern or series to the thefts. If something was identified then dedicated patrols could be set up. It was confirmed that the National Farmers’ Union still had a policing body that assisted with recovering stolen machinery, and there had been schemes funded in the past to mark vehicles. In relation to hare coursing, Sergeant Grant said a dog used in coursing had recently been seized and so had some vehicles, which acted as a deterrent and disrupted the practice.

Cllr Rayner said statistics showed rates of violent crime and burglary were down 20 per cent in her ward, and asked if there was a similar pattern for rural crime. Sergeant Grant said issues with quad and scrambler illegally riding on farmland had been a persistent problem, and a number of vehicles had been seized and warnings given. He said Covid had reduced some crime levels, and there was no evidence to suggest town centre burglars were focussing instead on rural burglaries.

Cllr Cannon asked if there was a specific operation in place to stop vehicles that were not road legal from riding on fields and farmland. Sergeant Grant said there was something planned but he could not go into further details for operational reasons. He said it may be possible to put items of street furniture in certain places to prevent vehicles accessing land.

Responding to a question from Barbara Story, Sergeant Grant said theft of animals was not something that was known to be a particular issue.

Sergeant Grant said 101 calls or reports on the website were not always picked up on immediately, but the team or officer it should be sent to would be identified and the report sent on to them.

David Scott said he would assist with putting together a list of contact details from the farming community and forward these to Sergeant Grant. Members of the Forum thanked Sergeant Grant for attending.