Blog: Chief Constables' Council - 18 April 2018

He writes:

I think this may be a first; the NFU sitting in a room with all of the UK’s Chief Constables talking about the impacts of rural crime on farming communities and farm businesses.

NFU President Minette Batters has travelled to York to address the Chief Constables’ Council, the senior operational decision-making body for the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC).

Minette is clear in her presentation that she wants to bring to life the challenges of rural crime, and how we can drive change through the NFU working together with Chief Constables. She described how, despite the current challenges such as this winter’s weather and the unknowns of Brexit, rural crime is the major concern she hears from NFU members across the country.

Pictured L-R: Inspector Alex Butterfield of North Yorkshire Police; Will Naylor, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire; NFU President Minette Batters; Deputy Chief Constable Craig Naylor of Lincolnshire Police and Silver Command for NPCC Wildlife Crime and Rural Affairs Strategy

Devastating effects of rural crime

There are lots of nods from Chief Constables around the room as Minette notes that farms are unique in often being family homes as well as small businesses, and that these rural crimes impact farming as a business but also people in isolated rural communities.

I think another important point that Minette raised was that rural crimes can sound relatively harmless - with parochial names such as livestock worrying, fly grazing and hare coursing – but they can often have devastating impacts on farm businesses, on rural communities and on animal welfare, as well as often being accompanied with violence and intimidation.

Minette was also clear that the NFU wants to find solutions and work with the police. 

"The NFU has a network of regional staff and they and our members are more than happy to meet up with you to discuss solutions and how farmers can work with the police to combat these crimes. If you aren’t already in touch with your NFU County Adviser I’m happy to set up a meeting.” 

Craig Naylor, Deputy Chief Constable for Lincolnshire, presented the NPCC’s strategies for wildlife crime and rural affairs. These strategies were unanimously agreed by all Chiefs that morning, marking the first time the NPCC has had strategies on rural crime.

DCC Naylor welcomed the NFU’s lobbying on rural crime and the work the NFU has done with the recently retired Chief Constable of North Yorkshire, Dave Jones.

I spoke to him after the meeting and he noted that coming from an urban force in Edinburgh he was unaware of the impacts of rural crime and was shaken by hearing from farmers at their wits end, in tears and thinking of giving up farms that had been in the family for generations to escape the fear and intimidation.

In his presentation, DCC Naylor said that he feels the police don’t understand the organised criminality behind a lot of rural crime, and that he is requesting police resources to carry out research into this area. In relation to hare coursing, he said the police need to understand "where organised criminals go for their leisure time".

Following presentations, there were a number of questions and comments put to Minette from Chief Constables, including;

• Olivia Pinkney, Hampshire Chief Constable, who recognised that the police need to do more and make sure officers that may be mainly urban based understand rural crime.
• Giles York, Sussex Chief Constable, who welcomed the collaboration with the NFU nationally and in his county. He recognised that the challenge for the police was “how do we make people feel safe?”.
• Simon Cole, Chief Constable of Leicestershire, who brought up the issue of fly-tipping and the confusion over where responsibility lies in dealing with it.

Sara Thornton, chair of the NPCC, closed the meeting by thanking Minette and noting that it was important for Chief Constables to meet with their local NFU to hear from people and listen.