Out and about in town and countryside

#TogetherForBedfordshire | Public reassurance and enforcement are two core pillars of community policing and #ProjectServator deployments are great examples of these principles in practice.

They can happen at any time,  placing highly visible uniformed officers alongside plain clothes colleagues on the ground – in this case Luton town centre – engaging with the public, deterring criminal activity and, where necessary, making arrests.

It’s all about teamwork – this week officers from the Luton Community Policing team worked with security personnel and colleagues from City of London Police.

Of course, here in Bedfordshire it’s not just urban issues we deal with and that’s why members of our Ampthill Community team have been increasing patrols round the Forest Centre in Marston Moretaine. It follows reports of anti-social behaviour and criminal damage to wildlife bird hides.

And a successful week too for our Rural Crime Action Team (RCAT) who managed to recover a valuable stolen Toyota Hilux which had been hidden deep in a hedgerow at the bottom of a flooded field. It’s been returned to its owner.

Officers say pickup trucks and 4x4s remain high value targets for organised vehicle crime. You can find lots of advice on deterring the criminals here: https://www.beds.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/keeping-vehicles-safe/ 

As our officers like to say, we can’t be everywhere, but we could be anywhere.

And who doesn’t love an animal story with a happy ending…and this week we’ve got TWO !

Back in Luton the successful discovery of a cannabis factory had an added surprise for one of our officers, who discovered a cat hiding in the property. Some food, donated by a kind neighbour, was enough to lure it out and it is now being cared for.

Meanwhile one of the sergeants from our Bedford team had a little friendly nip to remember this lost dog by. It had been spotted running round the town centre.

Again, a little food went a long way, and having gained its trust, the hound was captured and is now being cared for by the town’s dog warden.

Don’t forget you can report issues directly to us here: https://www.beds.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about or call 101.

You can also report anonymously at Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Information we receive from the community really helps the way we deploy resources and tackle crime.