Kirkby police officer taking the reins as new lead on equine crime

PC Harvey, 23, has been chosen to lead Nottinghamshire Police’s HorseWatch scheme, and in her role she will be working closely with the equestrian community to identify and resolve a variety of issues.

The scheme, which was introduced in 2017, provides the equestrian community with a platform to open up conversation about issues in their areas.

The HorseWatch team has a heavy presence on social media, in particular Facebook, and whilst it is not a reporting tool for incidents, the engagement that officers have received through the scheme has been really useful in helping them to understand some of the wider issues that the community wants them to tackle.

PC Harvey said: “The scheme is really about listening to the equestrian communities’ concerns and doing what we can do address and tackle those as effectively as possible.

“We look at a number of issues that can affect the equestrian community, such as illegal off-road biking, thefts of trailers and, in particular, ensuring the safety of horse riders and drivers on the roads together.

“Partnership work is also a significant part of what we do, joining together with councils around the ‘Dead Slow’ campaign, which works to educate drivers on passing horses wide and slow. This is especially important to us following the updates to the highway code, which now says drivers should pass horses at no more than 10mph.

“We’ve also spoken to people about livery yard standards and worked with the British Horse Society to offer advice as they conduct a lot of work around this and complete inspections.

"So, even though we can’t take reports of incidents through the HorseWatch page, we can gauge what the community is concerned about and put certain actions into place to proactively tackle this.”

Katherine, who is also a dedicated wildlife officer for Nottinghamshire Police, is hoping to reach equestrians right across the county through a variety of social media engagement opportunities and in-person events.

She said: “Since taking over as the lead in January, I’ve been really keen to make the Facebook page more active and encouraging for people to engage with us, even if it’s just small things like getting people with horses to share pictures of their beloved four-legged friends in the comments.

"We’re looking forward to getting out in the community and working proactively to keep the county the safe and enjoyable place that it is for horse lovers, horse owners and horse riders alike, and we would ask anyone with concerns or ideas to get in touch with us via our social media pages.”

Anyone with equestrian related concerns or information can engage with Katherine and the team over the dedicated Nottinghamshire Police HorseWatch Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NottsPoliceHorseWatch.

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