It’s just crime of a different kind; cattle stealing and tractor theft replace the loss of motor vehicles and retail goods.

A new crime-fighting program aimed at curbing the growth of rural theft will arrive in the southern Riverina later this year.

Like its urban cousin, Rural Eyewatch uses Facebook to publicise criminal offences and has been operating on a trial basis around NSW since last year.

Yesterday, NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Geoff McKechnie, was in Albury for a meeting of the Police Minister’s Rural Crime Advisory Group and to introduce the new program.

Geoff Provest, NSW parliamentary secretary for police and emergency services, says the new site is live, offering victims of crime the opportunity to track down their loss in a timely manner.

He said the site also actively involved community in policing rather than being told about crime statistics weeks after the events.

The site will be a real boon, not only to police in their efforts to track down those responsible for crime, but also to give members of the community the chance to offer valuable information.