When asked what people want from their police force, 'to see more officers on the beat' is often the response. And the farming community in places like Rutland would add 'peace of mind, safeguarding property, and a visible presence'.

PC's Chris Vickers and Matt Houghton are the frontline for Rutland police, aiming to tackle rural crime and address these concerns.

"The rural policing team was set up because it was realised that people who live in rural areas – Rutland being one of them – were not getting the policing services that they deserved," PC Vickers explains, as he starts another long shift with colleague PC Matt Houghton patrolling the miles of narrow country lanes between properties in Rutland in their giant Ford Ranger 4×4 vehicle.

"We 're now the direct contact point for farmers, businesses and those who live in rural communities, and while rural crime is on the decrease at the moment, currently, we are dealing with plant thefts such as mini-diggers and metal thefts with scrap values as high as they are," he added.

The first stop is to landowner Hugh Crouch, whose stud is just outside Langham. "Hugh is a regular stop for us", PC Houghton explains. "There isn't much that goes on in Rutland that Hugh doesn't know about or hears about .

"Of course, we and the farming community do everything we can to prevent thefts."

"There are various hidden trackers put into the vehicles and the horseboxes have unique identity numbers both visible and invisible, as well as reflective stickers on them telling anyone who sees the box on the road at night that it's probably being stolen.

"But often, items are scouted for in advance like a shopping list, they're then sold to somebody before there is any attempt at actually stealing them. And then, if successfully stolen, are usually out of the country – much less the county – within 48 hours. After that they're rarely seen again."

Stolen quadbikes can fetch up to £3,000, sit-on lawn mowers up to £800, and a horsebox as much as £8,000, while a stolen tractor or a piece of machinery can run to many tens of thousands of pounds.

Stolen quadbikes can fetch up to £3,000. Image credit: Nub News.

Sometimes the item doesn't even have to be stolen to have devastating consequences . While the police officers talk to Hugh, Sarah, one of the stud's tenants, said: "My partner Richard bought a brand new 4×4 to use as part of the business on the farm. At some point the identity of our new vehicle was copied – we don't know how or where – but it was then cloned onto another, identical but older vehicle, which had been stolen and then broken up for parts and scrapped. As a result, the DVLA registered the vehicle as scrapped and no longer on the road."

Completely unknown to Richard, when he was out driving one day, a police marker on his car that it had been scrapped meant he was pulled over to explain why he was driving it. He managed to eventually convince the police of his rightful ownership, but until the DVLA changed their registration, he and the business were not able to use the vehicle.

That was in February 2023. Four months later, the DVLA removed the incorrect scrapped registration, but the financial consequences to their business had been near devastating – and they were innocent of any wrongdoing.

"Seemingly simple thefts like the identity of a vehicle can have catastrophic consequences on a rural community like this," PC Vickers added. "Only today, while we've been here has this family and their business been able to retrieve the use of their vehicle."

Luckily the rural community in Rutland pulls together in situations such as these and have formed a rural community page on Facebook with the help of the rural policing team. PC Vickers has been a police officer for 12 years, his father and grandfather also served before him.

Rutland is a rural location that witnesses a range of rural crimes. Image credit: Nub News.

PC Houghton, who has been in the force for more than 14 years, also followed in the footsteps of his father. PC Houghton explains: "I've had many roles as a police officer, pounding the city streets in Leicester, I've done riot duty, as well a firearms training.

"But being a part of the rural policing team with Chris is definitely my favourite duty. We work well together, and we're genuinely making a difference, building relationships with a community who are known for their cautious approach when it comes to policing.

"We've had to work hard to get to know them, gain their trust, become part of their daily lives and the first call when they need something."

On top of this, the team have increased local routes and watches, including heading around the area with a brand new speed camera van to monitor local roads.

The team have a brand new speed camera van working in the local area. Image credit: Nub News.

This helps to reduce the risk to local families, cyclists, other road users and the farming community, who often travel in large, slow vehicles on the local roads.

"It's no coincidence that the highest rate of suicide in the country is among the rural farming community," PC Vickers said. "A lot of these people live from day to day, sometimes week to week without seeing or speaking to another human being.

Mental health issues, depression and loneliness among isolated rural community people is a real problem, and one that more and more, teams like Matt and I are finding we have to deal with."

The team get a call that a farm in Ashwell has had lead stolen from an outbuilding roof. When they arrive, the 16th Century main house appears abandoned, so the officers search the many outbuildings, barns, and sheds, finding various cars including a Range Rover and a 1980 Morris Marina, dusty, but with only 29,000 miles on it.

Various tractors, low loaders, trailers, and other farm vehicles are locked in sheds. No-one is around but lead does appear to be missing from one of roofs.

Driving to visit the person who reported the theft, it appears the owner was a family member who died some time previously, and the farm has been abandoned. The officers explain how easily they were able to get access, putting the items there at risk.

Police officers from the rural policing team try to make themselves as visible as possible, visiting farms and speaking with landowners.

One of the latest ways in which the team are spreading their message are free key fobs, shaped like a tractor, and with QR codes on them that, when scanned with a smart phone, immediately take you to the website to report rural crime.

In addition, a series of posters with information about how to prevent rural crime are being put up in windows county-wide. "It's all pretty simple stuff when you think about it," said PC Vickers.

"If more people recorded the serial numbers of expensive pieces of equipment such as chainsaws, trailers and quad bikes, our job would be made that much easier.

"That said, we encourage rural people to use CCTV, trackers such as data tags and audible alarms. But sometimes it is just the really simple stuff like closing a gate, locking a shed door that can make all the difference."

One of the rural community's pet hates is fly tipping . "Under reporting of fly tipping is a huge issue for us ," PC Houghton said. "We need people to keep their eyes open for couriers they don't recognise with suspicious loads. People in rural areas know their land better than we do, so we need their help to locate and stop these crimes from taking place."

'What3Words' – a mapping system that can pin-point a location to two meters using a free app on your phone – is also being employed by police to accurately locate a crime.

It is working. Police and crime commissioner Rupert Matthews is delighted that rural crime, in general, is on the decline.

Rupert Matthews. Image credit: Leicestershire and Rutland PCC.

Find out more about a day in the life of Rutland Police here.