Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary feature the great work of their Mounted Volunteers
This week marks Equine Week of Action, and as part of this we want to say a huge thank you to our Mounted Rural Patrol (MRP) volunteers who dedicate so much of their time to supporting our police priorities.
We currently have 18 volunteers across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, who cumulatively have completed more than 1,227 hours of patrol activity since 27 April last year. That equates to 803 patrols!
In this same period, volunteers have engaged with more than 2,200 members of the public whilst on patrol.
Our volunteers are based across Hedge End, Basingstoke rural, Winchester, New Forest, Isle of Wight, Havant, East Hampshire, Test Valley, Fareham and Hart.
Jack Sparrow and his rider Vikki Stanley (see picture in the comments!) are just one example of our volunteers. They are based in Basingstoke and joined the scheme more than 5 years ago.
They have encountered all sorts on their patrols over the years, including being involved in finding missing people across farmland, reporting dangerous driving, field fires, and helping police catch poachers and their dogs – even safely detaining the dogs and handing them over to the authorities.
Thank you to Jack Sparrow, Vikki and all of our volunteers for everything they do!