Night of action for rural crime teams across Sussex

Sussex Police confirmed officers on the teams spent Monday night (January 17) into the early hours of Tuesday (January 18) stopping vehicles on the borders of East Sussex with Kent and West Sussex with Hampshire to gather intelligence on rural criminals and provide a visible reassurance to those living and working in the rural communities on the borders.

Police say the operation was focussing on tackling rural burglary, theft of power tools and farm equipment.

Across Sussex, the team worked with the Roads Policing Unit and Specialist Enforcement Unit to stop about 40 vehicles.

Inspector Oli Fisher, from the Sussex Police Rural Crime Team, said, “We recognise that our rural communities expect and deserve to see a visible police presence, whether they are in the heart of the county or on its borders.

“This operation allowed officers from Kent and Hampshire to work shoulder to shoulder with Sussex officers, to not only provide a visible deterrent to criminals, but to improve intelligence sharing between our forces.

“We spoke to many drivers that night. I would like to thank them for their support. On top of the arrests we made, members of the public provided us with intelligence about local criminality. We will be running joint operations regularly to ensure our rural communities continue to be served effectively by the police.”