Fieldays is over for another year. It was good to have such a positive vibe and to get to talk to so many people – all while getting in a lot of steps.
Constable Danica Hibdige and Senior constable Deb Hann at Fieldays 2023
Despite the large crowds, it was largely uneventful from a policing perspective. Staff dealt with a couple of traffic crashes on the roads around the venue – weather conditions being a contributing factor, there were a few children who got separated from their parents temporarily along with the usual misplaced vehicles with owners getting confused as to which carpark they had parked in on entry. One person was arrested after allegedly stealing from one of the vendor sites at the end of a day. He was also found to have illicit drugs and faced charges in court as a result.
In other recent good catches, last Thursday staff responded to a report of shoplifting from a local chemist. Our constables located a female on Victoria Street. Despite attempts made by her to hide her identity, she was found to be a recidivist thief from Hamilton. Not only was she offending whilst on bail for other charges, but as part of that she was in breach of a bail curfew. She was arrested and taken straight to court. It is great to stop such offenders in their tracks.
In reviewing incidents this week, some suspicious rural activity was reported. As locals and neighbours, you get used to the normal patterns of activity around your home and workplaces and are often best placed to identify activity or behaviour that is suspicious. If you see something out of the ordinary, perhaps bags or packages being passed between vehicles or people partaking in illicit drug consumption, let us know. Where vehicles are involved, offenders often swap the registration plates on their or stolen vehicles or alter them to display differently. If you see such behaviour and it is safe to do so, a picture, as they say, speaks a thousand words.
If we do not have a photo and the registration given does not meet the description given of the vehicle, it can create uncertainty as to whether it is a mis-remembered legitimate plate or altered/stolen plates. CCTV or dashcam footage is as always also great to have.
A final reminder to lock your vehicles when you leave them, even if you are going to be away briefly. We still receive reports of wallets being stolen out of unlocked vehicles. While the theft is annoying for victims, the fraudulent use of credit and debit cards that then frequently results, compounds the situation. Protect yourself from opportunist criminals.
