Rural Crime Action Week offers an opportunity to deliver on strategy promises, says NFU – NFUonline

Increasing threats such as equipment theft, livestock infestations and fly-tipping continue to disrupt agricultural life, leaving a lasting emotional toll on those who work tirelessly to produce food and care for the landscape.

A number of PCCs (Police and Crime Commissioners), such as: B. Thames Valley PCC Matthew Barber and Cheshire PCC Dan Price, have made encouraging progress in rural crime prevention.

Bedfordshire Police have also achieved impressive results by prioritizing tackling rural crime through local initiatives such as rural crime task forces, fly-tipping operations and hare hunting in their respective districts.

This commitment serves as a model for how targeted efforts can help make meaningful differences, but there is still much work to be done at the national level.

“Collaboration is key to effectively tackling these crimes,” said NFU vice-president Rachel Hallos, adding that the progress made by PCCs shows the “positive impact that can be made”.

“While crime is a problem wherever it occurs, rural crime presents particular challenges. The scale, costs, social impacts and other impacts of crime in rural areas are underestimated, under-reported and not fully understood .

“Farmers not only bear the financial cost of the theft, but also the significant emotional toll of knowing their family farms are being targeted.”

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