Police ask public to be eyes and ears

Officers from the Upper Valley Neighbourhood Policing Team are establishing a new crime-fighting network called Rural Watch

As part of the ‘Call it in’ campaign, North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Taskforce is asking residents to note down and report any suspicious activity, particularly in remote or isolated areas.

Booklets to record suspicious activity are also being distributed at local events and in North Yorkshire County Council’s supermobile library service.

They also contain rural crime prevention advice, information about Rural Watch schemes and the Rural Taskforce and contact details on how to report incidents to police.

Insp Jon Grainge, of North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Taskforce, said: “North Yorkshire is the largest single county force in England, and we’re proud of all the work we do to keep our area safe.

“However, we cannot be everywhere, so information and intelligence from local communities plays a key role in the fight against crime.

“That can come from our fantastic Watch scheme volunteers, or from our Community Messaging system, but also from simple calls from members of the public.

“Local residents are the best people to recognise when something is not quite right – and if that’s the case, we’d like to hear about it. Even if it doesn’t need an immediate response, every piece of information helps us build up a picture and could prove vital in bringing criminals to justice.”