News & Business
Two-thirds of farmers fall victim to rural crime – report
• 69% of farmers targeted by crooks • Fly-tipping and theſt top offences • Call for action against rural crime
M
ore than two-thirds of farmers fell victim to rural crime last year –
prompting calls for renewed ef- forts to combat criminals in the countryside.
Some 69% of growers and
livestock producers were target- ed by criminals during the past 12 months, according to the lat- est National Rural Crime Survey. Furthermore, 60% of farmers are worried about becoming a victim of crime in the future.
Many offences go unreported, according to the report, which was published by the National Rural Crime Network last month. Called Living on the Edge, the document says rural crime is leading to emo- tional strain and a loss of confi- dence. Farmers, young people and
hard working families are among those most affected and feeling most vulnerable, according to the study. The average impact of crime on farmers and rural busi- ness owners is £4,800, which is a 13% increase on 2015.
Fly-tipping
Some 57% of respondents said they had seen evidence of fly-tip- ping in the past year – topping the list of offences. Other is- sues include farm theft, burgla- ry, livestock worrying, trespass, hare-coursing and online har- assment.
Country Land and Business Association eastern region direc- tor Ben Underwood said: “The re- sults of the latest national crime survey are worrying but confirm the hard reality of how people who live and work in the countryside view rural crime.”
Mr Underwood added: “While understanding that police budg-
4 ANGLIA FARMER • AUGUST 2018
ets are tight – we will continue to push for a level of investment and resource in rural policing that bet- ter reflects the seriousness of the criminal activity that takes place.”
Frustration and anger The rural crime network com- prises 30 police and crime com- missioners, supported by a range of rural organisations. Network chairwoman Julia Mulligan, who is police and crime commissioner for North Yorkshire, said the sur- vey was a wake-up call for in posi- tions of power.
“These results are stark and
worrying. Crime is up. Anger is up. Frustration is up. Trust is down. Those rating the police as good is down. With 10.3m people living in rural areas, these are trends we can no longer ignore.”
Only 27% of respondents to the survey said local police were do- ing a good job – some 11% lower than when the same question was asked in 2015. Decisions affecting
Hertfordshire farmer Will Dickinson is among those to suffer repeatedly from fly-tipping
“
Prosecutions and lenient sentenc- es are failing to deter rural crim- inals, the government’s solicitor general has been told. The warning was issued by the NFU to solicitor general Robert Buckland QC MP during a meet- ing of the All-Party Parliamen- tary Group for Rural Crime. An effective justice system must re- flect the true costs of rural crime to farmers, said the union. It comes amid ongoing concern that police are not receiving the resources needed to combat crime in the countryside – including ru- ral theft, fly-tipping and anti-so-
These results are stark and worrying... trends we can no longer ignore
national policing – from funding to safety and security – should be set against the report findings,
said Ms Mulligan.
“This report needs to be lis- tened to in the future when deci- sions on funding are being made, we can no longer continue to see funding being sucked from rural areas to urban. It simply isn’t good enough and politicians need to sit up and listen.”
NFU warning over leniency towards rural crime
cial behaviour. Recent figures sug- gest little let-up in the offences faced by farmers. NFU chief land management
adviser Sam Durham said: “Ru- ral crime has devastating impacts for farmers and food producing businesses. It is only right that the punishments handed down to these criminals are severe enough to act as a deterrent.” NFU deputy president Guy Smith said the growing prob- lem of rural crime was one of the most frequent conversations he had with NFU members and a key priority for the union.
“It may well be that these criminals have more in common with serious, organised crime than petty theft,” said Mr Smith. “It is clear that there must be a co-ordinated approach between police and government to proper- ly tackle this blight on the coun- tryside.”
The meeting followed the
launch of the NFU’s Rural Crime Reporting Line in partnership with Crimestoppers. It encourag- es farmers to report crime infor- mation anonymously by calling 0800 783 0137 or visiting www.
ruralcrimereportingline.uk.
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