Northumberland 'pet detective' stars in TV police documentary

Neighbourhood Officer PC Lee Davison – Northumberland’s wildlife officer -starred in an episode of the BBC series.

Cameras followed Lee as he investigated poaching crimes.

As part of a specialised team, PC Davison is responsible for protecting rural communities against organised criminals but he is has also been branded Northumbria Police’s pet detective as his job also sees him protect wildlife.

PC Davison, said: “These types of crimes can have a huge impact, financially and emotionally on farmers and the public- not to mention the devastating impact on the environment and the countryside we love.

“We also work alongside partners and organisations like RSPCA and Farmwatch to monitor and police issues facing communities.

“Investigating wildlife crime can be anything from illegal hunting and animal cruelty to poaching and theft and is a unique part of my role as an officer.”

He added: “We have such a diverse area and the programme showed that, despite having some very busy city centres, we also have a beautiful countryside and we play an important role in protecting everyone and everything that lives there.”

The good work Lee and his team carry out involves dedicated police operations and initiatives such as Operation Checkpoint which sees surrounding police forces coming together to tackle rural crime, which results in vehicles being stopped and checked, property being seized and summons being issued.

A large part of the work carried out in these operations involves volunteers working alongside officers to safeguard communities and identify suspects.

He said: “We’ve got fantastic relationships with partners which prove incredibly beneficial when carrying out enquiries.

“It is a vast geographical area to police and we have a responsibility to those communities and farmers to continue our committed work around policing and protecting livestock.”

The third episode of the prime-time series ‘Our Cops in the North’ aired on Wednesday.

If you missed any episodes you can catch up on BBC IPlayer here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0006wkx/our-cops-in-the-north-series-1-episode-1