There have been a couple of incidents of criminal damage reported recently by churches in the rural areas of West Berkshire. Most of the damage has concerned external or internal doors. If the church is left open to visitors during the day any valuable portable items should be stored in a locked area of the church. Ensure all items are recorded, photographed and marked and use a secure table box for donations. Do not use a wall money box as criminals could cause costly damage trying to remove it.
Residents and members of the church should report any suspicious circumstances to the police by calling the Police Enquiry Centre 101 or if a crime is in progress dial 999.
Thames Valley Police provide a free community mesaging service for churches. For more enquiries or to register by call Debbie Morton on 01635 264718 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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On the evening of the 18th January, police officer and landowners joined forces to tackle rural crime.
Approximately 70 officers dedicated to the operation and 35 landowners, farmers and gamekeepers spread out over South Oxfordshire, the Vale of White Horse and West Berkshire overnight.
The landowners acted as spotters, calling in any suspicious activity to a designated operator who then deployed police officer who remained static close by. The aim was to detect and prevent crime as well as to gather intelligence on the people who are frequenting rural areas and committing these crimes. The crimes of concern range from theft of livestock, metal thefts and diesel theft to criminal damage on farm land as well as hare coursing and poaching.
Throughout the operation a male, 23 was arrested in West Berkshire, approximately 30 stop and searches were carried out and one vehicle was seized in Chievely.
Supt Robin Rickard, Commander of West Berkshire LPA, spoke to the Oxford Mail and said: “I want to say a big thank you to everyone who gave up their time - without people like that it would be harder to detect and deal with rural crime.”
