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Isle of Wight OCU

Welcome to the home page for the Country Watch rural policing scheme on the Isle of Wight.

 

Country Watch officers:
PC Tim Campany, PCSO Justin Keefe, Sgt Mark Lyth, PCSO Cat Quinn

The police force on the Isle of Wight wants to reinforce stronger links with rural communities.

The ‘Country Watch’ concept brings together different aspects of rural policing in a single initiative to help prevent crime and reassure residents and businesses.

It combines previous campaigns such as Horse Watch and Farm Watch, and current specialist roles including hunt liaison, wildlife crime and equine liaison. 

There are four Country Watch police officers and staff who already live and work on the island with existing expertise and experience in rural policing.

They include Isle of Wight Country Watch co-ordinator Sergeant Mark Lyth.

Sergeant Lyth said:  “This project is the rural equivalent of Neighbourhood Watch. Its purpose is to encompass all rural and remote communities on the island to encourage a greater exchange of information that can stop and solve crimes swiftly and effectively.

“Country Watch officers visit land owners, farmers, rural businesses and remote neighbourhoods to invite them to become official members of the scheme.”

This involves police asking people if they wish to provide the following details:

● Properties & businesses they run or land they own and its uses
● Types of equipment and supplies used or stored on their land or premises.
● People allowed to use the land routinely and regularly.
● Permission for police patrols to use private land so any suspicious activity reported can be monitored by officers.

Click here to download a Country Watch membership form

Note:  Joining the Country Watch database is free and there is no further cost to members. Personal data on the Country Watch database is processed by Hampshire Constabulary in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. Hampshire Constabulary will not share contact details or personal information supplied for this purpose with individuals and organisations outside Hampshire Constabulary. The information supplied to the Country Watch database will be used only for distributing crime prevention advice relevant to the Country Watch project and to ensure the accuracy of police systems.

Information can be shared with the police through a dedicated email address countrywatch@hampshire.pnn.police.uk.

This email is in addition to the police’s main non-emergency phone numbers 101 and 0845 045 45 45. In a life threatening emergency, always dial 999. If people wish to remain anonymous, phone the independent Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

Sergeant Lyth added:  “This system can allow police to communicate intelligence and information quickly and efficiently at short notice. For example, descriptions of people and vehicles suspected of being involved in suspicious behaviour at farms or in rural neighbourhoods. The dedicated Country Watch officers also keep victims and key witnesses informed about the progress of enquiries. 

“There are low levels of crime on the Isle of Wight, but we are never complacent in wanting to reinforce our work with all communities so people can feel safe and have confidence in the police to act on the concerns they raise.” 

Three Country Watch officers were at SCATS Countrystores at Blackwater near Newport on the Isle of Wight between 10am and 2pm on Saturday, August 28, 2010. PC Tim Campany, PC Nick Massey and Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Justin Keefe spoke with members of the public about the initiative. Police would like to thank SCATS Countrystores for their support and assistance in raising awareness of this campaign.




Simon Ash, Store Manager at SCATS Countrystores Isle of Wight said,  “On the first Monday of each month Equine Liaison Officer PCSO Karen Allen is based at our Equine Store to help and advise horse owners on security matters such as what to look out for with rural crime and how to report to Country Watch. We are pleased that we can support this in the Equine community and welcome any initiatives that assist our customers. These local community initiatives help our team at SCATS Countrystores understand wider issues that are occurring in the community helping us share information with the public.”




The four dedicated Country Watch officers on the Isle of Wight are:

Sergeant 24205 Mark Lyth
Isle of WIght Country Watch co-ordinator
West Wight Safer Neighbourhoods team (SNT)
Internal tel: 0845 045 45 45: ext: 663 128

PC 20130 Tim Campany
PCSO 13341 Justin Keefe
PCSO 13231 Cat Quinn


PC Tim Campany, PCSO Justin Keefe, Sgt Mark Lyth, PCSO Cat Quinn