NORTH Yorkshire Police have a number of operations in place to tackle rural crime from poaching to machinery theft.

Inspector Jon Grainge told members of North Yorkshire County Council’s Thirsk and Malton constituency committee that a rural task force had been set up in 2016 following feedback from members of the public.

“North Yorkshire is 95 per cent rural and the team was set up to focus on some of the areas that had been less well supported and fill the gap,” he said.

“The team concentrates on rural and wildlife crime which is what the feedback from local people told us they wanted.”

Insp Grainge said one of the key areas was prevention of crime.

“Operation Woollen offers advice to farmers to help prevent the theft of machinery which can have a huge knock-on effect,” he said.

“We also offer advice on cyber-fraud, in conjunction with other teams, which people living in rural and isolated places can often be affected by.”

Insp Grainge said one of the key ways of tackling rural crime was by engaging with the local community.

He said: “Obviously our resources are limited, but we do have volunteers who carry out active patrols and act as our eyes and ears across North Yorkshire.

“These volunteers are crucial to helping prevent crime happening by reporting anything suspicious.

“One of the key areas that this is working well is Helmsley where the community has embraced rural watch and are helping to reduce crime.”

Insp Grainge said officers also engaged with the local community at rural events.

“We attend shows and markets as often as possible to talk to people and offer advice on crime prevention,” he said.

Other issues tackled by the rural team were wildlife crime, particularly poaching of hare, deer and fish and illegal fly-tipping.

“Last year we had 6,000 offences of fly-tipping across North Yorkshire, which is a huge number,” Insp Grainge said.

“We work with local authorities in the aim of tackling the offence and enforcing the law.”

Cllr Lindsay Burr, who represents Malton, said one of her main concerns was drug use in the town.

She said: “This is an increasing problem and a lot of families are suffering on a daily basis due to drugs.

“Is there anything we can do to help the police rid the impact of drugs in Malton and Norton.”

Insp Grainge said it was a massive priority for the police.

“Community communication is vital for us to tackle drug crime and we welcome people contacting us with information,” he added.