POLICE AND INDUSTRY WORKING TOGETHER TO PROTECT FARMERS

The Combined Industry Theft Solutions (CITS) group, in partnership with Ben Burgess, the John Deere dealership, hosted a police training day in Ellington, which was deemed a resounding success.

40 officers, from five East Anglian forces, attended a special police training event held in conjunction with CITS and Ben Burgess agricultural department in Ellington, Cambridgeshire.

The officers attended a full days training, which was delivered by both specialist police training officers and industry experts including DC Chris Piggott, from The National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) and CESAR Police Liaison Officer, Vincent Lane, to learn about the current threats surrounding Plant and Agricultural machinery theft.

The event involved a number of presentations outlining risks and offered practical tips on how to identify stolen plant, which included outdoor demos on machinery identification.

CITS Chairman Ian Elliott opened the event and Chris Papworth, Ben Burgess's Branch Manager, welcomed the officers to the impressive dealer facilities. Mr Papworth stated “We are really pleased to do our bit to protect farmers in the area. Training as many police as we can will help protect businesses across East Anglia and the Midlands.”

Farming communities have seen a significant rise in theft over the years, and these types of special training events enable officers to learn the most up-to-date knowledge to tackle crime.

The event was also supported by the Home Office industry schemes, CESAR, and MicroCESAR, both identification marking systems used by Police to easily identify ownership of plant and machinery used on both farms and construction sites alike.

The feedback from the day has been excellent.

CITS, is an industry forum comprising representatives from the Home Office, Police, Insurers, and Industry have run a series of training events throughout the year, and have further events planned across the Country.

Date Created: 26/10/2022