Forces Equine Members, Volunteers on Horseback: Keeping Events Safe and Making Memories
Report by Joanne King, Forces Equine Member
"We are Volunteers on Horseback and yesterday we were patrolling the event and meeting members of the public! We had queues of families wanting to meet us and stroke the horses. Many of which had never met a horse before! The horses stood very well, were not bothered by huge crowds, sirens going off, displays, kids running about, pushchairs, wheelchairs etc!" said Jo King.
Working closely with Neighbourhood Policing and Rural Crime teams, the Volunteers on Horseback:
Role and Impact
- Community Engagement: Volunteers patrol the countryside, providing an extra set of eyes and ears for the police. They are trained to observe and report any suspicious activities without confronting lawbreakers directly.
- Visibility: The presence of horseback volunteers is intended to deter crime, particularly speeding motorists, by increasing police visibility in rural areas.
- Training: Volunteers receive road safety training from the British Horse Society and are provided with high-visibility jackets to identify them as police volunteers.
Regularly patrol on private land. By being allowed on private land they can check for any suspicious activity such as open gates, damaged fencing, tyre marks across open land, or dumped property.
"Spot and I regularly patrol south Northamptonshire. We support the Rural Crime Team and work closely with our local PCSO to go and check out intel we've been given!" said Jo.
We are always proud too see our members out and about in their day jobs keeping us safe and doing great things for our country.
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