Police urge rural property owners to improve security and prevent theft
New Zealand Police is urging rural property owners to remain vigilant and ensure their property is secure.
Waikato police are hoping the sight of a ‘POLICE’ branded tractor at regional field days will encourage farmers to get involved in rural crime prevention.
Inspector Paul Carpenter says the police are “always keen to introduce new and novel initiatives to highlight rural crime. Waikato has fronted these endeavours with mounted patrols at key public events and red-and-orange hi-visibility patrol cars on state highways.”
The latest is talks with CB Norwood Distributors leading to the company lending a New Holland tractor for the season, in police livery and with flashing lights and sirens.
Carpenter says “initial response [by locals] has been a quick double-take, then they reach for the camera… just what the concept is all about – promoting discussion of rural road deaths, drugs activity on farms, personal safety, stock thefts and illegal hunting.”
The tractor has appeared at Central Districts Field Days and the South Island Agricultural Field Days and will be at National Fieldays.
“Rural areas present unique challenges for police,” Carpenter says. “There are longer distances, lack of cellphone and radio networks, and smaller numbers of staff [needing] to do more in-depth engagement with smaller communities.
“And tactics that may work in large urban centres may not work too well in a rural setting.
“The key thing is, police need to know about incidents and rural residents need to feel comfortable reporting issues to us. We need to move away from the mindset of, ‘oh the police are too busy, I won’t trouble them’.”
From nitrogen limits to ecosystem restoration –farmers and catchment groups are leading a new wave of environmental care, says DairyNZ.
OPINION: The Government's decision to stop local authorities going ahead with reviews of district and regional plans makes sense for several reasons.
With June ending and following the most upbeat National Fieldays for several years, tractor dealers are reporting a lift in sales.
Global trade wars and uncertain tariff regimes could play into the hands of many New Zealand exporters, according to Gareth Coleman ANZ’s Head of Trade & Supply Chain.
The long running trade dispute between NZ and Canada appears to be over.
Herd improvement company LIC has ended the 2024-25 financial year in a strong position - debt-free and almost quadrupling its net profit.
OPINION: Your old mate's ear has been chewed off recently by farmers voicing their displeasure with the National Party, particularly…
OPINION: Your old mate hears that at a recent China Business Summit, PM Christopher Luxon delivered a none-too-subtle "could try…