Nine-year-old Hazel names the Devon and Cornwall Police tractor

It has police livery, a John Deere badge and a name chosen by a nine-year-old. And from now until the end of the summer, it will be turning up at agricultural shows across Cornwall and Devon.

Almost 300 children entered

Devon & Cornwall Police revealed the winner of its ‘Name Our Tractor’ competition on Monday 6 July, at a school assembly in Mid Devon.

The competition launched back in May and was open to children aged 16 or under living in Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Almost 300 entries came in. The winning name, chosen by Chief Constable James Vaughan, was ‘The Crop Cop’, submitted by nine-year-old Hazel.

“I called it Crop Cop because my Dad grew up on a farm and I wanted a name that sounded fun and fitted a tractor,” Hazel said.

PC Clarke Orchard, the Force lead for farm machinery, agricultural plant and agricultural vehicle theft, came up with the tractor initiative in the first place. He went to Hazel’s school on Monday morning to present her with her award during assembly.

What the tractor is actually for

The John Deere has been loaned to the force free of charge by Masons Kings, a local agricultural machinery dealership. It is being used as an engagement tool by the Rural Affairs team at shows and events across the region.

Since its debut at the Devon County Show in May, the livery has been pulling crowds and starting conversations with farmers, which is more or less the point of it.

“The response to the competition was fantastic,” PC Clarke Orchard said. “There were almost 300 entries in total and several suggestions that would have made excellent names.

“The Crop Cop will be joining us throughout the summer to help us interact with members of the public and enable us to have important and meaningful conversations about how we can work with our communities to tackle rural crime.”

Standing with farming communities

Dominic Burt, General Manager at Masons Kings, said the partnership was about backing farming communities against rural crime.

“We are very proud of the response and the efforts of Devon & Cornwall Police on this campaign, and would like to pass on our congratulations to Hazel for coming up with the fantastic winning name, The Crop Cop,” Dominic Burt said.

The next chance to see the tractor is at the Yealmpton Show on Wednesday 29 July. Updates on where it turns up next, and other rural crime news, go out via the Devon & Cornwall Police Rural Affairs team on Facebook.