Kinney thinks mountain bikers and hikers would do well to just ask property owners whether they can ride or hike on private land. I know people need to get out, but I think if they'd just ask sometimes, they might be pleasantly surprised. Beyond trespassers, however, catching perpetrators is one of the hardest parts of fighting rural crime. There are almost never witnesses, and a crime scene could be hours or even days old before a deputy arrives on the scene. Farmers themselves are often the biggest source of tips for the deputies, according to Kinney.
Growers do more than just help train deputies.
Some have even gone on stakeouts with officers trying to nab repeat offenders. One time, the late night stakeout netted a transient who had been joyriding around in a water truck. Law enforcement officials believe the man may have been responsible for a number of other joyriding incidents around the area, since they stopped after the man's incarceration. Teixeira's operation has participated on three or four separate incidences, he said, on five or six different nights. In addition to stakeouts, the rural community also meets four times a year in the form of the Rural Crime Advisory Board, where growers and others can share information about crimes or other activities going on in their area.