Introduction
Welcome to Farm Watch.  Farm Watch is an initiative set up to help farmers guard against theft, increase the chance of recovering stolen property and strengthen relationships in the rural community. Like Neighbourhood Watch, it relies on reporting incidents and circulating information.

Although crime is decreasing, people in the rural area of the Vale of Glamorgan from time to time become victims of crime. Safer Vale and local farmers work closely together in Farm Watch schemes to prevent rural crime and protect farms. Farm Watch schemes have been set up to increase farm security and deter criminals from rural property.

Farm Watch aims to raise awareness of rural communities in respect of crime prevention. Whether you live, work or are just visiting the area, the schemes encourage you to be vigilant to what is going on and report suspicious behaviour.

If you live in the countryside you may be used to routine activity. You will often see the same people in the same cars and vans going about their business on a daily or weekly basis. So when that pattern is broken or something out of the ordinary takes place, we urge you to pay a bit more attention and contact us.

Farm Watch is about looking after your own and other people’s property but also having the reassurance that someone along the road is keeping an eye on your property in return. With everyone looking out for one another, then the countryside across the Vale of Glamorgan will be an even safer place.

Farm Watch aims to:

• Reduce opportunities for crime to occur in farming and rural communities.
• Strengthen community spirit, so that everyone works together to protect their property.
• Improve communication between the farming community and the police.
• Encourage people to report suspicious incidents as they occur.
• Reduce local opportunities for theft of livestock and deadstock.
• To reinforce the community spirit so that everyone can contribute towards the protection of their property by mutual co-operation and communication.
• To introduce early warning systems in farming and countryside areas.
• To improve the intelligence flow between the countryside communities and the Safer Vale Partnership by encouraging

Services offered by the Farm Watch scheme include:

• Practical crime prevention advice to farmers and landowners, to help ensure their property and goods are as secure as possible.
• A property marking scheme to make it harder for thieves to dispose of stolen goods.
• A Community Messaging service.

The key aim of Farm Watch is to stress the importance of vigilance and communication within rural and farming communities and between rural communities and the Safer Vale Partnership.

What are the advantages of Farm Watch?

• A reduction in crime and the fear of crime benefitting the community.
• Suspicious people and vehicles can quickly be reported to the police and other members of countryside communities.
• Information and advice can be quickly and efficiently circulated between the police and the community.
• A crime vigilant community in partnership with Safer Vale will create a safer environment.

How to Watch
Farmers may be at risk from crimes such as theft and vandalism. These happen at all levels of our society, but can be really reduced by an effective watch scheme.

The first role is to observe any suspicious activity calmly and discreetly. The very existence of a Farm Watch scheme in your area will act as a deterrent to many criminal types where someone is determined to take a risk it is not recommended that members deliberately attempt to scare off the suspect in order to prevent crime. Remaining calm and discreet gives you the best possible chance of gathering the information and reporting what you see quickly and accurately. There are of course some situations, which are more urgent than others, in this case 999.

What to do in the meantime

• Ensure all your property is security marked
• Note down all serial numbers
• Take photographs of all high value equipment
• Register your property for free and improve your chances of getting it back in the unlikely event that it is lost or stolen. Help reduce property crime by accessing the immobilise site on www.immoblise.com.

If you see anything suspicious taking place, please contact South Wales Police on 101.

You should call 999 if:

• violence is being used or threatened
• there is danger to life;
• a crime is in progress or offenders carrying out a crime have recently been disturbed; or
• there has been a road accident where people are injured, or there has been a non-injury accident where traffic is affected

If you would like to discuss Farm Watch or any other issue with your local Police Community Support Officer (PCSO), please refer to www.ourbobby.com where you can find their contact details.

If you would like to join Farm Watch, please complete the online form click here or you can fill in the community messaging form appendix 2.a