Telford crimefight squad to battle 'priority' areas
A new police team is being launched to tackle business, rural and computer-based crime as part of a £1 million initiative.
The Telford & Wrekin business, rural and cyber crime team has been formed to tackle issues including fraud, thefts of farm equipment, shoplifting and burglary which had been identified as priority areas during consultations with the public.
The new team, based at Malinslee police station, will be launched at a conference attended by around 100 business and community leaders at Harper Adams University on Thursday, June 18.
Sgt Ben Stephens, who will be supervising the new team, said West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner Bill Longmore had identified business, rural and cyber crime as priority areas for the force, and had set aside £1 million to reduce offences in this area.
The team will focus on the needs which are specific to the Telford & Wrekin district, which was unusual in its variety of urban areas and rural villages.
He said the team, which would include three Police Community Support Officers, would be focused on crime prevention rather than enforcement. He said similar teams had been a big success elsewhere in the force area.
Sgt Stephens said gathering intelligence from the public and sharing information would be an important part of the initiative.
He said people in Telford & Wrekin had identified drivers speeding through villages, house burglaries, and anti-social behaviour as being priority areas, which the team would be looking to deal with.
"Another issue which does not always get that much publicity is the theft of agricultural equipment, that can be things like trailers or diggers, which can be very expensive," he added.
"You don't get any more burglaries in rural areas, but you do tend to find there will sometimes be a spate of them where two or three houses will be targeted in one afternoon."
West Mercia's Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Barrie Sheldon said:
"We need the public's help if we are collectively going to succeed in addressing these issues. The police need people to report crime, but there are also simple steps we can all take to prevent crime in the first place.
"I'm very much looking forward to going through these sorts of things with people in Telford & Wrekin."
