Police and crime commissioners are elected to make sure that the local police in their area are meeting the needs of the community. Yet too often, rural communities fail to feel adequately protected against criminals and organised crime gangs.
Theft of large and small machinery, fly-tipping, dog attacks on livestock and hare coursing continue to blight farming communities.
As a result, rural crime cost the UK £49.5m in 2022. However, the full scale cost and social impact of crime in rural areas is underestimated, under-reported and not fully understood.
The upcoming PCC elections offer a timely opportunity to shine a light on these issues and reflect on ways in which police forces combat rural crime.
NFU Vice President Rachel Hallos said: “In recent years, rural communities across Britain have been dealing with highly organised criminal gangs targeting the countryside to steal livestock, valuable machinery or expensive GPS equipment.
“To tackle rural crime effectively, we are asking PCCs to ensure priorities for addressing rural crime are detailed in their Police & Crime Plan and to recruit a dedicated rural crime specialist.
“I urge all candidates to meet with local farmers to understand the impact of these crimes first-hand and commit to tangible plans to better help combat rural crime.”
Help us stamp out rural crime
Survey work carried out for the NFU by More in Common in October 2023 showed that 71% of the public believe rural crime should be treated more seriously by the police. That’s why the NFU will be sending an open letter to every single elected PPC, calling on them to:
- Ensure priorities for addressing rural crime are detailed in their police and crime plan.
- Recruit a dedicated rural crime specialist.
- Engage regularly with the farming community.
- Deliver effective response and investigation of crimes impacting farm businesses.
- Work with farm businesses on effective crime prevention strategies.
- Develop a strategy to counter the impact of organised crime groups operating in rural areas.
- Provide greater rural crime training for officers and control centres.
If you agree, add your name to the letter to show that we need urgent action on rural crime.
The elections will be taking place on 2 May. You have until 12 May to sign this letter and back our call for better rural policing.
The NFU is also inviting all candidates in the upcoming PCC elections to meet local farmers to hear first-hand the impact of criminal activity on farming businesses and discuss steps to help combat this threat.
Download our PCC election flyer.
Tackling rural crime nationally
Alongside making rural crime a priority at a local level, the NFU continues to campaign for a consistent and coordinated response to rural crime across government and police forces.
With 80% of NFU Mutual Agents reporting that rural crime is disrupting farming activity, it is clear that the government’s police funding formula simply does not reflect the costs of policing rural areas.
The NFU’s ‘Farming for Britain’s Future’ general election manifesto calls on the next government to deliver fair funding for rural policing, a dedicated rural crime team in every police force in the country and the formation of a cross-departmental rural crime task force to address failures in dealing with rural crime.
