Every little bit of information helps.
That’s the message from Seymour’s new farm crime liaison officer Detective Senior Constable Stuart Briggs.
A police officer for 10 years, Det Sen Constable Briggs is encouraging the district farming community to report thefts and suspicious activity to curb rising levels of farm crime.
“There’s a lot of farms and rural properties covering a vast area in Mitchell Shire, so policing all of it is a challenge,” he said.
“That’s why we need the support of the community to give us as much information as possible.
“Farm crime is very common and the best way to put a stop to it is reporting everything to us so we can look into it. It doesn’t matter how small.
“If there’s an active emergency, 000 is the one to call, but the Police Assistance Line and Crime Stoppers are available to report anything that could be useful.
“Nothing is too small. It could be an unusual car, or person hanging around a rural property, or something just doesn’t feel right. The more information we have, the more we can do.”
Det Sen Constable Briggs encourages farmers and rural property owners to get to know their neighbours and understand what is and isn’t normal in their area.
“It sounds very simple, but getting to know your neighbours is an important tool in combatting farm crime,” he said.
“The combination of neighbours looking out for each other and passing any relevant information to police can significantly reduce farm crime.
“The nature of rural communities means people may not know there has been a crime or there might be a large window when it may have occurred.
“That makes catching offenders and preventing it from happening difficult. But if we’re all working together and staying alert, we can keep on top of it.”
Phone the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 to report some non-urgent crime and events any time, anywhere, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you have information that could help solve a crime and you do not need police assistance, you can make an anonymous report via crimestoppersvic.com.au/report-a-crime or phone 1800 333 000.
If there is a threat to life or property, phone 000.