This is a 40-hour course designed for patrol officers, investigators and crime prevention personnel wanting to develop an expertise in the area of rural crime.  The student will be provided with skills necessary for effective rural crime prevention, reporting, interdiction and investigation.

There will be instruction on basic livestock theft investigation, breed and brand recognition, individual case studies, rural criminal law, trespass law, the bureau of livestock ID’S role and responsibilities, livestock road enforcement, agricultural commodity theft, investigation and inspection, heavy equipment theft, agroterrorism, agricultural fraud, equipment OAN and PIN number identification, metal theft and agricultural chemical theft. 

There will be field exercises and role-playing that is related to the lectures.  Related law enforcement professionals are invited to attend.

For more information on the Rural Crime school, please click here for class information or click here for a 2008 registration form.

A Perspective on the 2007 Rural Crime School
by Gayle Learned

For the past several months I have been working with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s office Rural Crimes Task Force. The information and partnership I have gained from them has been a great resource for our Farm Bureau.

In September, I was fortunate enough to be allowed to enroll in the 2007 Rural Crime School hosted by the California Rural Crime Prevention Task Force and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s office. The annual training school is held primarily for law enforcement personnel from California and Nevada. Speakers for the 2007 class hailed from various agencies including The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), FBI, Riverside County Health Department, Allied Insurance, National Equipment Register, and Department of Fish and Game. Phil Wagner of the CDFA said, “This school is an important tool to educate our Rural Crime law enforcement officers with the problems that farmers and ranchers have to deal with”.

The diverse topics that were discussed over the five day training class incorporated issues on Agro terrorism, Ag Chemical Theft, Metal Theft, Theft of Commodities and Heavy Equipment, Dog/Cock fighting and proper identification and reporting of livestock theft. As a member of the Farm Bureau, I was grateful to see the dedicated participation and importance that law enforcement took on these issues, which are often detrimental to the Ag community.

Many counties, including San Bernardino, have created task forces specifically to deal with rural crime. San Bernardino County Deputy Sheriff, Chris Wadkins, stated “A lot of the time Ag related crimes go unreported. I think this is due to when the farmer/rancher calls, the deputy/officer that responds has little knowledge of rural crimes. It is important for them to know that the Sheriff’s department is aware of this and is training deputies to investigate rural crimes. We encourage the farmers and ranchers to call and report crimes that occur so we know that crimes are occurring in their area and can work with the victim to investigate the incident”.