Dorset Police has added a new Suzuki Jimny to its rural crime team to improve access to farms, tracks and hard‑to‑reach locations across the county. The move is intended to shorten response times and extend patrol coverage in remote areas where standard patrol cars cannot operate effectively.
The county’s Police and Crime Commissioner, David Sidwick, said the compact 4x4 would bolster the force’s off‑road capability and support officers tackling offences that often occur far from tarmacked roads. He described the vehicle as both small and rugged, underlining its role in reaching places where larger or conventional vehicles struggle.
“[It is] a compact but highly capable vehicle that would access remote farmland, tracks and off-road locations that standard police vehicles simply can't reach.”
Why an off-road addition matters
Dorset’s rural landscape includes extensive farmland, bridleways and unsealed tracks. Police say these environments can slow or prevent routine units from attending incidents quickly. The Jimny is intended to fill that gap by giving dedicated rural officers the means to travel across uneven ground and narrow lanes without delay.
According to the Commissioner, the key benefit is quicker and more reliable access when reports come in from isolated communities. He emphasised that for residents and landowners outside town centres, the ability to get an officer to the scene can be decisive in preventing suspects leaving the area or in gathering timely evidence.
“For many of our rural communities, speed and accessibility can make all the difference,” he said. “Whether responding to reports of poaching, hare coursing, theft of agricultural machinery or other rural offences, this new vehicle will help officers get to where they're needed more quickly and effectively.”
Focus on rural offences
The force has highlighted a number of offence types that frequently occur in countryside settings and often involve large areas of land or off‑road routes:
- Poaching – unauthorised hunting or taking of wildlife on private land.
- Hare coursing – illegal pursuit of hares, typically across open fields.
- Theft of agricultural machinery – targeting high‑value equipment often stored in remote outbuildings.
- Other rural offences – incidents taking place away from main roads where access is challenging.
What the new vehicle is expected to improve
The Jimny will be operated by Dorset Police’s rural crime team, whose work spans prevention, patrols, and targeted response. While the force has not released detailed deployment schedules, the objectives set out by the PCC focus on access, speed and practical support for communities who live and work outside urban areas.
| Capability | Intended benefit |
|---|---|
| Off-road mobility on tracks and uneven terrain | Faster attendance at incidents beyond the reach of standard vehicles |
| Compact size for narrow lanes and gateways | Improved access to fields, woodland margins and farmyards |
| Dedicated rural deployment | Focused patrols where countryside crimes typically occur |
Community impact and practical takeaways
For farmers, land managers and residents in rural Dorset, the addition is intended to reassure that officers can get closer to the scene of an incident in a timely manner, particularly in locations that are several fields from a main road or accessible only by rutted tracks. A more agile vehicle can support proactive patrols as well as reactive call‑outs, potentially deterring repeat offending in hotspots that have previously been difficult to reach quickly.
The force has signalled its focus on tackling offences that damage livelihoods and wildlife. The new 4x4 is presented as a practical tool rather than a symbolic purchase, aimed at overcoming a long‑standing access problem encountered by rural policing teams. While the introduction does not replace standard units, it is expected to complement wider operations and enable officers to follow up reports that would otherwise require lengthy detours or on‑foot approaches from distant parking points.
Next steps
Dorset Police has not published additional technical details or deployment figures for the new vehicle. However, the PCC’s comments frame the purchase as part of ongoing efforts to adapt resources to the county’s geography and to the specific demands of countryside policing. Residents are encouraged to continue reporting rural crime through the usual channels so incidents can be logged, assessed and, where appropriate, prioritised for the rural team’s attention.
The measure will be judged in the coming months by its contribution to shorter response times, better coverage of remote areas and support for investigations on farmland and off‑road sites. For now, the Jimny offers the team a means to get closer to the problem, faster, in the places that have traditionally been hardest to reach.
