Community crime watch groups are key for tackling rural crime in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Task Force covers an area that stretches from Selby to Scarborough to Stokesley to Skipton and relies on intelligence and tip offs from the public as it prepares for one of its busiest times of year.

The harvest season also spells the start of the poaching season and around the county there are Rural Crime Watch groups where local residents, farmers and landowners keep in touch with each other if they see anything suspicious via meetings or even whatsapp groups.

It is proving effective and one incident, spotted by the community, ended up with a court appearance for one criminal.

A vehicle had been seen on land in Arkendale, reported to and stopped by police a short time later. A piece of damaged vehicle found in the field was proved to be from the same car by crime scene investigators and the occupant was prosecuted for criminal damage offences, fined £1000 and banned from driving for six months.

Community Protection Notices, used to tackle anti-social behaviour in local areas, led to a decrease in poaching figures by the end of the season by 30 per cent and 60 per cent by the end of the year.

In August, new legal measures were introduced to strengthen law enforcement for hare coursing by increasing the maximum penalties for convictions but also introduced new criminal offences and new powers for the courts to disqualify convicted offenders from owning or keeping dogs.

Sgt Mark Earnshaw said: “It causes a great deal of fear amongst local communities and it is becoming intimidating and unsettling. Poaching can be used as a front for checking out buildings and properties and that is where the fear comes from in communities.

"Organised crime group are involved in poaching offences and we see the same people involved in rural crime that are involved in poaching.”