By Daniel Cobbs
Photography by Jude Edginton
Buntingford Police Station is a throwback to a bygone age. It used to be a police house, until it was converted in the 1970s to the station it is now. It’s not a particularly pretty building, nor is it easy to recognise from the road, and if it weren’t for the subtle police signage it could easily be mistaken for just another three-bed semi, which it once was.
Local residents keep the front garden immaculate, which is testament to the high regard this small East Hertfordshire town has for its local constabulary and for the long-serving Sergeant Duncan Wallace, who has been stationed there for the past 15 years.
Sergeant Wallace admits that he’s ‘in love with the surrounding countryside’, and has spent the best part of his working life ensuring it stays safe. He was born locally on a farm, just like his father and grandfather, becoming a farm manager before joining the police force 22 years ago.
Sergeant Wallace was looking for ways to reduce agricultural crime when he hit upon the idea of trying out Honda ATVs
His friends are mostly farmers, and he’s been known to help out on their farms on his days off, at times driving the combine harvester for them.
It was at his instigation that the East Hertfordshire police force first adopted Honda ATVs. ‘It was a throwaway comment to my chief constable,’ he admits. ‘We were attending a meeting hosted by a group of local farmers and the hot topic of conversation was the rise in agricultural theft and the best ways to combat it.
‘The boss asked my opinion on how we could police the more remote locations in the area and do more to prevent this type of crime. I told him I thought using ATVs might be one solution to the problem. He gave me permission to approach Honda, and the rest, as they say, is history.’
Sergeant Wallace makes light of the monumental task it must have been for him to cut through all the necessary legalities to get the ATV vehicle approved for police use, and the extensive off-road training he and his officers have undergone with the MoD to ensure their safety when riding it. ‘The police force had never used ATVs before, so it’s been a learning curve for all concerned,’ he admits.
In May 2012, Honda agreed to loan an ATV to one of East Herts’ Rural Special Constables. Sergeant Wallace proposed Special Constable Nick Livermore, who lives within the district. His own rural upbringing, familiarity with local farmers and his military background (he saw action with the Royal Marines) made him ideal.
In addition to Livermore’s basic police training, he has specialised in wildlife offences and has been taught how to investigate rural crime.
In recent years, rural crime has become more than a crafty poacher snaring a rabbit for his supper. It is now being committed on a massive scale – very often to order and by organised criminals – with agricultural machinery and livestock the favoured targets.
Farmers lost £6 million and 69,000 sheep to crime in 2012
According to insurer NFU Mutual, in 2012 more than 69,000 sheep were stolen in the UK, costing farmers around £6 million. The Association of Chief Police Officers estimates the cost of metal theft to the UK economy at more than £750 million per annum.
‘Rising commodity prices and the relative ease of access has meant farms are seen as rich and easy pickings,’ explains Sergeant Wallace. ‘The urban perception of rural life is a big house and an idyllic lifestyle.
The reality, however, is much starker. Most farmers live in isolation and in remote locations. These properties are also very difficult to secure fully, as most have several tracks leading to the main house. We know that a visual police presence is one of the best forms of deterrent and, in an ideal world, I’d have a policeman stationed on the crest of every hill in my legion, but I haven’t the resources to do that.
‘Nick, with his ATV, is now able to access unreachable areas; places our 4×4 vehicles would struggle to traverse.’
ATV proves its worth
The ATV is proving itself in other areas of policing, too. It was deployed in London during the Olympic Games last year to patrol the perimeter fencing of the Lea Valley White Water Centre.
When an elderly man from a local residential home went missing, it was Livermore and his ATV who headed up the search party. ‘We had ten officers out on foot looking for this gentleman,’ explains Livermore. ‘I could cover the same amount of ground as them, but in a fraction of the time.’
The police have found another application for the ATV’s transport trailer, too: by hitching it to the rear of the ATV, it can tow heavy equipment across muddy fields. Recently it was used to tow a stretcher carrier when an injured horse rider needed urgent medical assistance for a broken leg.
‘The casualty was lying in the middle of a really muddy field and it was impossible for the ambulance to get anywhere near to her,’ Livermore explains. ‘We were called in to assist and, within minutes, the patient was in the back of the ambulance and on her way to hospital. I’m pleased to say she’s since made a full recovery.’
With budgetary constraints impacting the police, the ATV also makes huge financial sense. On average, it costs the force £870 per month to keep one of its 4x4s in active service, while the ATV is working out at just £109. And, because it is much lighter, with a smaller footprint than a more conventional off-roader, it causes a lot less damage in the fields.
Even before the ATV’s initial 12-month trial had ended, it had proved its value on so many occasions that Sergeant Wallace’s superiors decided to buy another one, with neighbouring North Hertfordshire police following suit by purchasing two. It seems the Honda ATV has become an invaluable piece of kit for the police in rural Hertfordshire.
Honda CR-V on duty
It’s not just the police who benefit from Honda’s off-road expertise. The Welsh ambulance service has ordered more than 30 of the third-generation Honda CR-V cars in the past year, while the Scottish ambulance service has taken delivery of more than 40, with a further order for another 20 of the all-new fourth-generation CR-V.
The intelligent all-wheel-drive system fitted to the Honda CR-V allows the SUV vehicle to cope with the harshest of weather conditions. Additionally, as it works without the need for driver intervention, the crew on board can concentrate on rescues, proving an ideal transport for the emergency services.
Honda has also supplied a new CR-V to Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance to act as a land-support vehicle. The CR-V will be used to attend incidents when it would be quicker to respond by road.
To catch a thief
Old-fashioned policing and the Honda ATV soon brought a ne’er-do-well to justice. Special Constable Nick Livermore explains: ‘A theft of car batteries from a local scrapyard had us all baffled. We couldn’t understand how the thieves broke into the site, loaded their booty and made their getaway without anyone noticing, and all in broad daylight.
‘The batteries had been stored securely, in a fenced-off area, with the only access via a gated road, which hadn’t been penetrated. After scouting the neighbouring fields I noticed a set of tyre tracks leading away from the scrapyard, which I followed on my ATV.
‘After about two miles I came across a trailer containing the batteries hidden under a tarpaulin, so I waited until the thief returned to collect his haul and nicked him. The irony of this story is that he’d used a stolen ATV and trailer as his getaway vehicle.’
