Police crackdown on rural crime and irresponsible driving
Hertfordshire is approximately 70 per cent rural, but research shows a lot of rural crime often goes unreported.
A recent crackdown in East Herts was joined by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire.
Jonathan Ash-Edwards accompanied Sgt David Miller and his team based at Buntingford Police Station for the evening deployment.
A traffic stop operation was set up along the A120 in Standon, with vehicles being pulled into the Standon Business Park.
Among those stopped was a van driver who failed a roadside drugs test for cannabis and who was then arrested and taken into custody.
Checks on a tractor revealed it had no lights on the farming equipment attached to the back, with the driver being reported for the offence.
Two over vehicles were reported or given advice for contraventions including a defective tyre and having an insecure load.
The Herts PCC then joined Sgt Miller for a patrol of the rural areas of East Herts, with a particular focus on intercepting illegal waste carriers linked to fly-tipping.
He also met with farmer Charlie Wooton while he was harvesting his field to discuss what issues those in the countryside are concerned about.
A farming vehicle was later stopped in Thundridge on suspicion of speeding and failing to display a rear number plate.
Mr Ash-Edwards said: “Ensuring rural communities feel safe is very important to me, so I wanted to take the opportunity to get out and see one example of how Hertfordshire Constabulary are tackling crime in rural communities.
“The visit was very informative and enabled me to talk to the officers on the frontline to gather their experiences and also to members of the public to find out what their main concerns are.
“People have told me that they want a greater visibility of officers around the county, particularly in our rural communities.
"Operations such as this shows they are out there on patrol, doing a great job, making arrests and keeping people safe, even if they are not seen each time by residents.”
Mr Ash-Edwards is due to join more rural police operations in the future, including Op Galileo, which focuses on hare coursers, and a planned Barn Meet.