Neighbour cops praise county’s rural crime op

The Oxford Dictionary – others are available - broadly defines ‘Ragwort’ as a weed that competes with other vegetation and limits the productivity of farmland. So it is appropriate that a recent police operation against rural crime was named after it.

Like its older brother Operation Vanquish - sometimes referred to elsewhere as Operation Scorpion - that targets the illegal drugs trade, ‘Ragwort’ was a South West-wide operation, supported by the region’s five Police and Crime Commissioners and forces, targeting elements of rural crime like equipment and trailer theft, unsafe/ unroadworthy vehicles and offences against wildlife and the environment.

These are issues that are often raised with us with much of it linked to organised crime gangs. Being able to bring together the rural crime teams from across the region for some targeted action has proven incredibly successful in the other areas and, coinciding with the recent Stow Horse Fair, it was timely for Gloucestershire Constabulary to lead from the front. And it was an exemplary operation.

There was a static checkpoint, roving overt and covert vehicles with partners present in the vehicles helping with stops and ‘what to look for’.

More than 70 vehicles were stopped and examined; numerous offences identified, two 32-ton commercial vehicles seized for no insurance and a stolen vehicle was recovered following a pursuit plus numerous partner engagements carried out by Gloucestershire County Council Trading Standards and Environmental Health. And all done with a smile and compliance from those stopped.

It was also a triumph for collaboration involving what you might call a Who’s Who? of interested parties. Gloucestershire contributed officers from the Neighbourhood Support Group, Roads Policing Unit, Dog section, Special Constabulary, Cotswold Neighbourhood Policing Team and drones. As well as all of the region’s police forces, also involved were the SW Commercial Vehicle Unit, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the Environment Agency, Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, Cotswold District Council, Gloucestershire Trading Standards and the National Rural Crime Network.  

While it’s true the Constabulary has had to endure some difficult headlines in recent weeks, it is equally fair to report that the various visiting forces and partners were incredibly impressed with the operation. It was extremely well organised, and frankly a credit to the Constabulary and its ability put together an operation of this type.