Farmwatch goes Japanese!, Teesdale Mercury

Farmwatch goes Japanese!

Aug 15, 2002

IN a land of electronic wizardry and hi-tech gadgets there is not much the Japanese can learn from Teesdale.





However, the Teesdale Farmwatch system is one thing that can be exported back to the land of the rising sun.

A group of Japanese academics visited Teesdale on Thursday to speak to Insp Dave Allaway and John Priestley who pioneered Farmwatch.

Farmwatch was started in Teesdale and is now used throughout the country. It is a unique partnership between the police, farmers and local people which helps keep rural crime to a minimum.

The Japanese visitors were professors from Tokyo and Kyoto doing research in Co-operative Studies. They were staying at York St John College and were visiting community projects all around the north of England.

“We will be using the Farmwatch system as a case study on community initiatives in Britain,” said Dr Hisashi Nakamura, the Japan project officer for the school of international education.

Mr Priestley gave the visitors a Powerpoint presentation on Farmwatch. “The presentation shows how the system works, and the relationship between the farmers, the police and the community,” he said. “It took a little longer than usual as everything had to be translated!

“I’ve done presentations on Farmwatch all over the country,” he added. “But this is just about the furthest it’s ever gone!”