Grantham and Bourne MP Gareth Davies on Lincolnshire Police’s efforts to address rural crime
Each and every day I receive correspondence on a range of issues and I am always grateful for residents bringing their experiences to my attention, writes Grantham and Bourne MP Gareth Davies (Con).
This is not only extremely useful in assisting my representation of our area in Parliament, but helpful to guide my conversations with local leaders and service providers.
Recently, residents in Grantham have written to me to raise their concerns on the prevalence of off-road bikes being driven illegally on our town’s roads, across pavements, and on shared green areas. This anti-social behaviour doesn’t just annoy and intimidate people, it is incredibly dangerous, including for those riders who may be breaking the law.
On the back of residents’ correspondence, I made sure to share their concerns with the chief constable of Lincolnshire Police, who I know is very aware of the impact of these off-road bikes and the risk they pose. As a result, I am pleased that he has chosen to set tackling these bikes as a priority for our Neighbourhood Policing Teams for the months ahead.
As with all crimes no matter how serious, residents should always make sure to report them to the police, either via 101 or online and especially via 999 in an emergency. Our Neighbourhood Policing Team need our help to identify the perpetrators and properties from which the bikes are used and all reports can help them to better target their regular patrols.
Outside of Grantham and Bourne, I know that Lincolnshire Police are also working hard to crackdown further on the more rural crime that so often impacts our villages and farmers.
Whether it’s stolen machinery, livestock, or tools, crimes like these have such a profound impact on Lincolnshire farmers, our wider rural community, and our local economy. If farmers’ expensive machinery is stolen, they not only risk losing their livelihood, but Lincolnshire farmers will be unable to fulfil the role they have played for centuries in feeding our nation.
It is because of the especially damaging impact of rural and wildlife crime that I called for a greater focus on tackling these awful crimes when I was first elected. Since 2021, Lincolnshire has now benefited from the work of our own Rural Crime Action Team (RCAT), and in just the last fortnight, our RCAT recovered a quad bike stolen from Pointon and a stolen JCB telehandler which was on the move on the A52 towards Grantham. If not for the work of our police, both of these items would have represented multiple thousands of pounds of loss to their owners and in potential economic impact to our local economy.
Although like all crime across our area in recent years, while rural crime has reduced significantly, from my most recent roundtable meetings with farmers - both those from around Bourne who I met in Dunsby and those from elsewhere in our area who joined me in Boothby Pagnell - I know there is still more we can do.
Working with my Lincolnshire Conservative colleagues in Parliament, we continue to push the Government to provide long-term greater funding for Lincolnshire Police. While the recent announcement of £5.7 million in special grants and upfront payments is welcome, the Chief Constable has been clear in his warnings and I expect Labour Ministers to address his concerns in full.
So whether through sufficient resources, greater powers, or making sure to always report crimes whenever they occur whether rural or urban, our Lincolnshire Police need our support to continue to do their excellent work to keep our area safe. I know that they can count on us as we do them.
