CUMBRIA's police, fire, and crime commissioner David Allen attended Kirkby Stephen Auction Mart at the annual Tup Sale. 

There he listened to farmers' concerns around theft and found out how the police are preventing these thefts in the rural community.

The commissioner met with the Rural Crime Team ahead of National Rural Crime Awareness Week at the sale where they were chatting to farmers about preventative security measures and providing advice around sheep safety.

Between April 1, 2024, and September 30, 2024, 18 trailers were stolen in Cumbria, a 38.9% rise from the 11 thefts in the same time period in 2023.

Sheep theft has also seen an increase in this timeframe, with 15 thefts in 2024 compared to 8 in 2023.

David Allen said: “Reducing rural crime is one of my commitments as Commissioner and it is also a priority of the public, highlighted to me in my most recent Police, Fire and Crime Plan consultation.

“This week is National Rural Crime Week so we are trying to raise even more awareness around rural crime, the effects, and what we are doing here in Cumbria to tackle it.

“Rural crime – especially theft – affects the livelihoods of farmers and other business owners so it’s imperative that we combat it, head on ensuring our residents are safe, and criminals face the consequences of their actions.

“However; preventing and reducing rural crime is a community effort. The Police do what they can to respond to crimes and raise awareness to prevent thefts from occurring but they need to help of the public to reduce it even further."

Rural crime team sergeant, Amanda McKirdy added: “Since the team was launched in September last year, we have conducted over 200 visits to victims of rural crime.

“These visits have allowed us to build relationships with our rural communities, provide crime prevention advice, and encourage reporting of suspicious incidents.

“Throughout this we have created a large network of people within our community, sharing information with each other and ourselves to support us in disrupting criminals in our county.

“We also work closely with other departments within our force and our bordering forces to target criminals travelling into Cumbria."