Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner John Tizard and Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Ash-Edwards visited two members鈥� farms on the Beds/Herts border to discuss collaborative working on issues such as fly-tipping, hare coursing and anti-social behaviour.
They were joined by a number of local stakeholders for the NFU-organised visits, including representatives from Bedfordshire鈥檚 rural police team and Mid-Bedfordshire MP Blake Stephenson鈥檚 office.聽
Whizz Middleton hosted the first visit, which focused mainly on fly-tipping. Whizz highlighted how loads of rubbish are frequently tipped along the lane near her farm.聽
Lionel Shaw hosted the second visit and took the group on a drive out into his fields, surprising the PCCs with just how close he is from Luton to arable fields, with miles of farm tracks that are easily accessible for hare coursers and other criminals. Lionel鈥檚 son gave a flying demonstration of his drone and how technology could be used to tackle crime in the local area.聽
Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire County Adviser Emily Brown said: 鈥淏oth meetings were incredibly insightful into the challenges that living close to a large town such as Luton present.聽
鈥淎 follow up meeting will take place later in the year to see what progress has been made by the local PCCs, local councils and MP鈥檚 office.鈥�
Working together on cross-border policing
02 June 2025
The impact of cross-border crime came under the spotlight when two Police and Crime Commissioners visited members鈥� farms.
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