CREATING awareness around farm crime has always been a passion for Farm Crime Liaison Officer Leading Senior Constable Dan O'Bree.
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Leading Senior Constable O'Bree, a farmer himself, works as a uniform officer at Axedale Police Station alongside his farm crime duties.
Originally from a property near Tooleybuc, on the Victoria/NSW border, leading senior-constable O'Bree has worked for Victorian police for over 22 years.
Prior to joining the police, he worked as a shearer all over NSW and Victoria for about 12 years.
Working on the land himself, he now leases a 360-acre farm at Sutton Grange with his wife where they farm sheep.
"I have been a police officer now for a long time and it is something I wanted to be a part of, even as a young bloke," he said.
Since 2013, Leading Senior Constable O'Bree has taken on the portfolio of central Victoria's FCLO, which involves travelling around the state to educate farmers on preventative measures they can take to keep their farm safe.
They support the Farm Crime Coordination Unit to provide a coordinated response to farm crime across Victoria, including livestock and equipment theft.
FCLOs monitor incidents, crime trends and patterns, develop intelligence and work with local police to proactively and reactively address farm crime.
"My role involves being the person in between the police and the farmers and I love working with animals and I love the rural side of things," he said.
"I still do day-to-day general duties but I also do lots of proactive things like we go around the state raising awareness and investigating rural thefts. Farm crime officers are somebody farmers know they can go to, they are people who can talk their own language"
Farm crime officers are somebody that farmers know they can go to, they are people who can talk their own language.
- Leading Senior Constable Dan O'Bree
As part of his proactive policing role, Leading Senior Constable O'Bree will attend the Rural Roadshow in Axedale on November 26.
He and other Victoria Police farm crime specialists will be set up to talk to community members about how they can better protect themselves against farm crime, as well as the important role they play in helping police catch these offenders.
They will be handing out farm security checklists and farm gate signs to help farmers prevent farm crime.
"We will there for a catch-up and chat with locals and will be their to discuss farm crime," he said.
Other news:
"We encourage people to come along and discuss preventative actions we can all make against farm crime."
The Farm Crime Roadshow will be in Axedale next Friday, November 26. They will be meeting on 88 Mitchell Street, Axedale from 10am-2pm.
Anyone with information about farm thefts should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or make a confidential report online at crimestoppersvic.com.au.
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