Cash from criminals buys rural crime-fighting cameras

An innovative crime‑reduction initiative is helping to protect some of Essex’s most vulnerable rural areas.

Our Rural Engagement Team has used money seized from criminals to buy solar-powered trail cameras which they are placing in rural crime hotspots to identify and deter crimes such as hare coursing, fly tipping and the theft of plant and machinery.

PC Luke Jones says tactical deployment of the cameras can aid investigations, deter criminals and make victims feel safer, providing valuable reassurance and support.

“Trail cameras are relatively cheap and easy to put up and, of course, they can monitor the area day and night.
“The footage is clear, which will help us to identify suspects, vehicles and even index plates – it’s good enough to be used as evidence.
“But they also provide us with valuable intelligence which can help us with problem solving and appropriate crime prevention advice.”

Under the banner of Operation Around, trail cameras are deployed based on crime pattern analysis, recent incidents and intelligence linked to crime hotspots, and for varying lengths of time depending on the issue.

Luke explains:

“Having identified a problem where we think the cameras will be helpful, we speak with the landowner, provide crime prevention advice and offer to put up cameras.
“Each deployment includes clear signage to meet legal requirements, making it visible that surveillance is in operation. We have found that the signs are as much of a deterrent as the cameras themselves. 
“While the primary purpose is to gather evidence and deter crime, they have also proved their value in capturing footage of rare and vulnerable wildlife, helping landowners to better understand conservation needs on their property.”

So far, rural engagement officers have deployed trail cameras at locations across our county to protect

• fields and woodland popular with hare coursers and poachers
• burglary locations
• rural road users
• spots targeted by fly-tippers
• Iron Age and Roman sites
• skylark nests
• badger setts

Results to date have been excellent, says Luke, with farmers and landowners consistently reporting increased reassurance. Surveys completed after each deployment show high satisfaction, with several stating that knowing the cameras are present has already changed behaviour on their land.

Luke says:

“These cameras provide farmers, landowners and victims in isolated rural locations with another layer of protection.”

The farmer

Matt Register and his father farm crops, including winter wheat, spring linseed and oilseed rape, in the Uttlesford district.

With such a large area to look after, it can be difficult to know who is doing what on the land. It’s not just hare coursers and poachers, some walkers don’t keep to public footpaths and crops can be damaged by boots on the ground.

Praising the Operation Around trail camera scheme as ‘fantastic’, Matt says: “We are so grateful. For us, the cameras have been so useful for security purposes and we’ve found them to be a deterrent. They have made things better for us.”

Initially, he liaised with rural engagement officer PC Luke Jones as to where they would be best located. Each camera deployment is temporary but Matt says it proved so successful, the farm now has its own cameras.

“I’d never thought of this before. But Luke gave us advice about what cameras would work best, and where.
“They have made us feel so much safer because we now know that if something happens, we can get evidence without having to be there filming on a phone. It’s already recorded and then it’s not just our word against theirs.
“Mounting cameras has allowed us to block all but a few entrances to our fields. They watch over the entrances we use frequently and they have given us security. 
“And they’ve allowed us to see what’s happening around the farm, which means we can identify what and where the problems are and deal with them.”

Op Around

The idea for Operation Around was sparked when PC Luke Jones attended a parish council meeting and spoke with farmers about hare coursing.

Knowing there’s a lack of CCTV in rural areas got Luke thinking about how low-cost technology could bridge that gap – and Op Around was born.

The trail cameras were bought with cash from the Essex Police POCA Fund – itself funded by money seized from criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Luke says:

“The cost of installing CCTV in many remote rural locations is prohibitive but modern trail cameras can do the job just as effectively.
“After every camera deployment we provide people with a survey and the feedback has been very appreciative. Some have even gone on to buy their own because they have seen the benefits.”

So far, our Rural Engagement Team has deployed trail cameras across 11 of the 14 district council areas in Essex: Basildon, Braintree, Brentwood, Chelmsford, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow, Maldon, Southend, Thurrock and Uttlesford.

If you live in a rural area and have an issue you would like to discuss with our Rural Engagement Team, please report it in the usual way: online or by ringing 101.

If a crime is in progress or someone’s life is in danger, ring 999.

For specialist crime prevention advice, visit our Rural Crime pages.