New initiative on stud thefts
Police in East Anglia have joined forces to launch a new Stud Watch schemed aimed at helping to beat regional crime
A joint initiative to fight crime on stud farms on the Suffolkand Cambridgeshire border near Newmarket has been launched by the Suffolk and Cambridgeshire police.
The aim of the Stud Watch scheme is to give people working at yards and stud farms in the area a way to share information about crimes or suspicious activity.
Mr Drake, secretary of the Newmarket Stud Farmers Association said: “Until now, the difficulty has been that a lot of the studs are bang on the Suffolk and Cambridgeshire border. The Stud Watch is a joint initiative between both police forces, and it has been set up to thwart that situation.
“There have been a number of thefts from studs, especially during the dark months. Stud farms have lots of big garden machinery, such as ride-on lawnmowers and quad bikes.”
Heather Highton, crime reduction officer for the Forest Heath area said: “There had been a Stud Watch in this area, but it had gone dormant. The idea now is to give it a new look.
“We have made up 100 packs which will be distributed amongs existing members of Stud Watch. The pack comprises a general crime prevention booklet and an information card on how best to report a crime and how to pass information on.
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“The important thing about thisStud Watch initiative is that the two police forces are working together with members of the public – the Newmarket Stud Farmers Association.”
The idea of the new scheme will be to encourage a “fax cascade”. When someone rings the Suffolk police to report a crime or with information, a fax will be generated, sent to the other police force and on to the Stud Watch co-ordinator.
The co-ordinator will then fax to key members at Stud Watch and they will then fax on to halfa dozen or so members in an effort to help spread and share vital information.
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