New drones and off-road bikes help Warwickshire police fight crime

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… Not superman, but possibly Stratford Police flying high with their new drones.

In the past month, two Rural Officers and three officers from the Rural Specials have been trained on the two drones purchased for the team by local authorities in North Warwickshire Borough, Stratford and Warwick District.

The drones will be used on dedicated operations, patrols and response to incidents, assisting the team in addressing rural crime and the offenders who target rural communities. All deployments will be in line with Civil Aviation Authority guidance and for policing purposes only.

In addition to the drones, two further officers from the Rural Crime Team have been trained and are now equipped as part of the force’s Dual Purpose Bike Team, who assist on the issue of antisocial behaviour caused by off road vehicles such as motorcycles, quad bikes and 4x4 vehicles.

Insp Allison Wiggin, Rural Crime lead for the force, said: “This is a really exciting time for the Rural Crime team. The drones and dual purpose bikes will be extremely beneficial to officers and will ensure our capability to tackle rural crime is improved even further.

“Since its formation in October 2019, the Rural Crime Team have recovered nearly £700,000 worth of agricultural vehicles, plant and tools and this additional equipment will assist them further in targeting criminals affecting farms and rural areas.

"These additional investments will give us greater ability to fight crime, arrest criminals and keep people safe.”