Dear Resident,

Officers from the Wiltshire Rural Crime Team joined Gloucestershire Constabulary, Avon & Somerset Police, Devon & Cornwall Police, Dorset Police, and partner agencies including HMRC, Trading Standards, Environment Agency, National Rural Crime Unit and DVSA last Thursday for the fourth phase of Operation Ragwort.

Operation Ragwort is a multi-agency collaboration of the five South West police forces, and their Police and Crime Commissioners, to proactively disrupt and tackle the theft of agricultural machinery and equipment on major local road networks. This phase of the operation took place along the A429 in Gloucestershire, near to Stow-on-the-Wold.

During the operation:
🚗76 vehicles were stopped
🔒One stolen vehicle was recovered
🎟️11 traffic tickets were issued
💰£150 worth of fines were issued by the DVSA
✉️10 engagement letters were issued in relation to waste carrier licences

The Rural Crime Team, alongside the Rural Crime Teams from police forces across the South West, are committed to tackling rural crime and work collaboratively to deter offenders and bring justice for victims. If you would like to report intelligence or a rural crime to the police, you can do so anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via 101.

You can read more about the operation on Gloucestershire Constabulary's website.