Police and Crime Commissioner David Lloyd has praised the Constabulary’s efforts to engage with rural communities across Hertfordshire.

Following the Rural Community Engagement Evening at Police Headquarters in Welwyn Garden City on Wednesday, he said: “The Constabulary is well aware that our rural communities have very specific needs and, as well as providing dedicated rural officers, the best way to make sure we are meeting those needs is for our police force to also regularly engage with rural people.

“Events like this and the regular police ‘barn meetings’ on farms around the county always attract a good crowd and I attend as many as I can myself.”
More than 50 people from the county’s rural community and rural businesses attended. It gave them an opportunity to find out what police are doing in rural areas and to raise any issues they might be experiencing.  They met local rural police officers and the force’s Rural Operational Support Team (ROST) which specialises in rural, wildlife, environmental, equine and heritage crime and traveller liaison issues. They investigate crimes such as badger baiting, hare coursing, nighthawking and the theft of metal from historic buildings.

ROST Sergeant Jamie Bartlett, said:“Hertfordshire’s beautiful countryside is mostly peaceful and tranquil. Crime occurs far less frequently in rural areas, but it does still exist and we are fully prepared to tackle this through the ROST and our rural officers based within local Safer Neighbourhood Teams.”

Commissioner Lloyd added: “As outlined in my plan for Hertfordshire, Everybody’s Business, I want the county to be a place where people, communities and businesses routinely engage with the police, get the chance to have their say, generate ideas and feedback about issues that concern them most and then know that something will then be done about it.”