A NEW anti-crime campaign is being piloted in the Yorkshire Dales National Park before being rolled out nationally.

Launched this Easter weekend, it is hoped the thousands of visitors and holidaymakers who visit the area will play a valuable role.

The agencies behind Moorwatch are appealing for visitors to join local people in becoming the extra eyes and ears which can play such a vital role in cracking crime.

The scheme covers the more usual offences – such as thefts from vehicles, fuel and quad bike thefts – through to crimes against wildlife and the environment.

Poaching, the persecution of birds of prey and damage to green lanes and sites of scientific special interest all come under its remit.

PC Mark Rasbeary, wildlife and environmental crime officer with North Yorkshire Police, has played a key role in getting the scheme off the ground. He was seconded to Natural England last year, working out of its offices in Leyburn, where he was also a local police officer.

Natural England has paid his wages for 12 months while he has worked with the Yorkshire Dales National Park and others to establish the scheme.

He said: “Our rural communities are among the safest areas in the country.

“However, criminals do operate in this area and we need the co-operation of residents and visitors to help reduce crime.

“The population of the national park increases dramatically during the tourism season, so part of our message is that we want the eyes and ears of all those visitors.

“We have the local people, now we are targeting the visitors who come to the Dales.

“Our message to everyone is very much if you see anything suspicious, report it. Do not be afraid to call.

“Hopefully, if they see something which does not seem right – someone taking slates off a roof or a buzzard in a cage in the middle of a moor – they will tell us.”

Natural England has paid for posters and leaflets which will be in tourist information centres, village halls, pubs, B&Bs, beauty spots and attractions from this weekend.

What makes Moorwatch different to previous schemes is its emphasis on the environment and wildlife.

Many people do not realise the police have responsibility to deal with wildlife crimes and has a network of dedicated officers like PC Rasbeary.

According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, North Yorkshire was last year the worst county of all for the persecution of birds of prey.

Hen harriers have been particularly hard hit. Their natural habitat is heather moorland, which is also home to the grouse – at the heart of a vital industry – they prey on.

PC Rasbeary said: “In the whole of North Yorkshire last year, we had no breeding hen harriers, yet we have some of the best habitat for them in the country. From a police perspective, I have to ask why?”

Elsewhere, damage to green lanes and some sites of special scientific interest by offroad vehicles and motorbikes have been a major cause of concern.

Police have held some successful joint operations with rangers from the Yorkshire Dales National Park to tackle the problem.

Matt Neale, Upper Wensleydale area ranger, said Moorwatch had already brought much closer working and understanding between rangers and the police.

“We have worked closely with the police to target illegal offroad activity which, in the main, is motorcyclists using green lanes, some of which may be legal and some of which are illegal,” he said.

“The national park has new powers to protect high conservation- valuable routes, whether it be for the flora and fauna or landscape features.

We are currently looking at 100 routes.”

Mr Neale said it was not always about prosecution, but quite often educating people and getting a message across.

High-profile operations also act as a deterrent, as sometimes a rider’s documents or bike are not in order.

He said the national park was concerned about a wide range of issues to do with rural crime which affects its communities and environment.

“This is a special and very fragile place that needs many different kinds of protection and we welcome the chance to partner this initiative,” said Mr Neale.

Moorwatch is run jointly by Natural England, the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and North Yorkshire Police.

PC Rasbeary said a major part of its remit was crime prevention and reduction.

It wants to work with everyone from local residents and visitors to businesses, landowners and gamekeepers to achieve that.

Moorwatch asks anyone who sees anything suspicious to contact North Yorkshire Police on 0845-6060-247 or Crimestoppers on 0800- 555111.