by Ed Davies
There are hopes that Lincolnshire’s innovative Caravan Park Watch scheme may be rolled out nationally
The scheme was launched in 2014 when Inspector Andy Morrice was the local inspector for the coastal area.
The Lincolnshire coast has one of the highest concentrations of caravans in Europe and Inspector Morrice got together with caravan park owners and representatives from the caravan manufacture and insurance industries to discuss ways to help reduce the number of burglaries that occur each year, especially during the closed winter season.
The Caravan Park Watch scheme was rapidly adopted by holiday parks along the coast and saw the introduction of new park policies such as the compulsory removal of televisions and valuables when caravans are ‘closed down’ for the winter.
Information Sharing Agreements were also introduced which allowed police to share information about known caravan burglars with scheme members, aiding site security staff and further helping to reduce crime.
Inspector Morrice said: “I was delighted to accept the National Caravan Council’s invitation to attend the exhibition and to talk about the success of the scheme.
“There was a great deal of positive interest in how similar partnerships can be adopted as best practice across the country, helping to reduce caravan crime on a national level.”
