News Rural crime is ‘blight on the countryside’ • Farmers bear brunt of criminal acts • 10% say it costs their business £10K • Police ‘need more rural resources’
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he devastating impact of rural crime on farmers has prompted renewed urgent calls for more resources to tackle the issue. The most common crimes include hare coursing, fly tipping, burglary and theft, according to an NFU survey. Of the 252 respondents from East Anglia who were victims of crime in 2020, some 10% said it had cost their business £10,000 or more. The average financial loss per farm was £5,100. One farmer who asked not to be named, said: “Rural crime is like an additional tax on the business, as we are constantly spending money upgrading security.”
Severe problem The survey was conducted ahead of this month’s Police and Crime Commissioner elections on 6 May.The NFU is asking all candidates to recognise the severity of the issue and commit to prioritising a reduction in rural crime as a strategic objective.
Fly-tipping, theft and harecoursing are among the problems
Rural areas receive lower levels of police funding, says Gary Ford
NFU eastern region director Gary Ford said: “Rural crime remains a blight on the countryside. We are concerned, but sadly not surprised, that so many of our members have been affected.” The survey shows that farmers and the wider rural community are fighting back – introducing additional security measures to farms and working more closely with the police. Mr Ford said: “Many members appreciate the response they receive from the police on rural crime but feel that rural teams are under-funded and under-resourced.”
New technology Farmers are making use of new technology, such as WhatsApp, to share in-
formation with local police officers. One farmer told the NFU: “It is now impossible to grow food without people driving on crops and damaging them.” Crimes like hare coursing, fly-tipping, dog attacks on livestock and theft of large and small machinery are all leaving rural residents feeling vulnerable and under siege. Mr Ford said: “They have knockon effects on farm businesses. Despite this, rural areas continue to receive lower levels of police funding, per head of population, than urban areas. “We will be using the survey findings in our discussions with police and crime commissioner candidates to help ensure rural policing receives the resources it needs – and rural communities deserve.”
‘More needed to tackle serious problem’ The NFU survey paints a bleak picture of crime in the countryside – but one which is also sadly familiar to many farmers. Almost two thirds of respondents (64%) said rural crime had increased in the past year, while 51% said they felt “not very” or “not at all” secure from crime. More than half (54%) said insufficient police resources were allocated to tackling it. As well as their experiences of crime, the survey included questions about crime prevention measures introduced on farms over the past five
4 ANGLIA FARMER • MAY 2021
years – and how farmers are working with police. The survey results show that farmers are responding to the problem by taking steps such as blocking field entrances (78%), digging ditches around fields (45%), upgrading building security (66%) and installing CCTV (49%) on their farms. More than one third (35%) of respondents said they had regular contact with the police outside of reporting crime. These included face-to-face meetings and attendance at NFU-organised events.
Almost half of farmers surveyed say they are responding by installing CCTV.
