Powys rural crime team calls for farmers' help

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Police will tackle sheep worrying as part of their action

Police have set up a dedicated team to target rural crime in Powys and gain a "greater understanding" of problems.

It comes after a senior officer said Dyfed-Powys Police needed to "up its game" to help rural communities.

PC Charlie Jones, who is part of the team, called on farmers to report all crimes to help build up a wide picture.

"Our farmers tend not to report a crime if it's of low value as they don't think it's worth it or that we can't investigate it," she said.

"We take all reports of crime seriously."

'Right direction'

NFU Cymru president John Davies agreed that farm-related thefts were "under-reported".

"Farmers and rural communities working together with these new dedicated rural crime officers will be a huge step in the right direction towards cutting down the amount of rural thefts," he said.

Dyfed-Powys Police covers Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys.

In June, the force set up a rural crime team in Ceredigion with Ch Insp Richard Hopkin revealing that feedback from farmers identified a possible "lack of confidence" in police.