Nearly 300 attendees were present at the recent national seminar aimed at stopping rural crime, hosted by crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).
The Kettering Conference Centre event on 10 November, called “Closing the Gate on Criminality”, was the biggest rural crime seminar in the UK and was attended by members of rural communities, and national organisations. It featured a key speech by the Rt Hon Nick Herbert MP, Minister of State for Policing and Criminal Justice.
Crimestoppers’ Deputy Chief Executive Dave Cording (pictured right) said: “We were really pleased with the turnout. It was also good to have the Minister of State for Policing and Criminal Justice speak - it shows how vital this issue is nationally – and that he described Crimestoppers’ role as “immensely important”. 
“A key point made was that agricultural equipment such as tractors costing up to £150,000 is being stolen, sometimes by organised criminals who can get it out of the country within 24 hours – and may leave the rightful owners unable to carry on their day-to-day work without it. This strengthens our determination to “close the gate” on criminality in rural areas.
“The seminar covered many essential topics, including using new technology such as texting and social media to share vital information to fight rural crime. We also discussed the need for community involvement, and sharing of information and intelligence.”
Rural crime can include theft of farm machinery and equipment, oil, diesel, batteries, metal for scrap value, tools, quad bikes, agricultural chemicals, tractors, and livestock such as sheep. An estimated £50 million to £70 million worth of plant and agricultural machinery is stolen nationally every year, and only 5% of this stolen property is ever recovered.
Dave Cording added: “We understand that rural communities are close-knit and trust is an important part of rural life, so people may be aware of who are committing these crimes, perhaps a neighbour or work colleague, but don’t feel comfortable giving this information directly to the police. This is where Crimestoppers can help, by providing an anonymous service for people to pass on information about crimes."
Speaking at the rural crime conference, last week, NFU President Peter Kendall has thrown his weight behind the campaign for tougher regulation of unregistered scrap metal dealers, in order to attack the epidemic of metal theft, which has been causing huge disruption to farms and other rural businesses.
Mr Kendall described metal theft as a “scourge”: “It is not just the metal which is stolen from farms which is the problem, although that can be bad enough, if it’s a metal gate which is taken and livestock get out onto a main road,” he explained.
“The biggest problem is the knock-on effects when copper cabling has been targeted, and entire areas lose their broadband access. For farms and other rural businesses, which are increasingly dependent on the internet to run their business, the disruption can be huge.”
The event, on Thursday 10 November, was ACPO’s first ever rural crime seminar. The aim is to help provide a greater understanding between the police, partners and communities of the key issues of crime and how it affects the rural communities of England and Wales.
First Sight Media filmed all of the presentations from the conference. They can be viewed on the dedicated website www.acporuralcrime.org
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