The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) hosted on-farm training for Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers from 30 September, concluding on Monday 28 November. Approximately 230 neighbourhood, district support and crime prevention officers, received training on a UFU member’s family farm in their district.
UFU deputy president William Irvine said, “We were extremely pleased with the number of PSNI officers who took part in the on-farm training and their engagement at each session. The officers’ eagerness to learn and understand rural issues reflected a sincere dedication and passion to protecting rural communities and families to the best of their ability. They were able to enhance their farming knowledge as the training provided officers with a better understanding of rural life and the necessary skills to handle extremely difficult and distressing issues experienced by rural families. We’re very hopeful that going forward, the PSNI will apply their training to all rural calls, enhancing their response with huge benefits for rural dwellers.
“Living rurally has many positives but it does not come without its challenges as services become more centralised, making rural dwellers feel isolated and without essential support. Centralising vital services can result in service providers becoming detached from rural life and the needs of local people, which is why this training for PSNI officers is so important. The most notable example of vital services being centralised is the recent news of the temporary removal of emergency services in the South West Acute Hospital. It’s extremely worrying for rural residents in that area and is a matter that we continue to monitor closely.”
Rural Crime Lead Superintendent Johnston McDowell said, “Rural communities play an essential role in the local economy. Thefts of livestock and equipment can not only hamper a farmer’s ability to do the job, but can cause significant upset, inconvenience and loss of income. Police understand this and that’s why we were delighted to have had the opportunity to attend the on-farm training with the UFU, enabling officers to further develop their knowledge in responding to rural incidents and tackling rural crime.”
Feedback from the training has been very positive. 98 percent of officers said they would recommend the training to other officers and 97 percent reported that this training should become embedded in the PSNI training schedule.
“I want to thank all the officers who participated in the training and in particular, our farm hosts. We couldn’t have organised this training without their willingness to welcome the PSNI onto their family farm. Their involvement in the training will have great gains for the wider rural community.
“Following the success of the training, as an extension, the UFU are coaching PSNI trainers to deliver classroom-based teaching of the on-farm events, to officers who were unable to attend. We’re also hoping to work with the PSNI to make the on-farm training available more regularly to new recruits and existing officers going forward,” said Mr Irvine.
