Farmers and rural business owners are "living on the edge" in fear of becoming victims of crime, a new nation-wide survey has shown.
The 2018 National Rural Crime Survey paints a bleak picture of the impact of crime on businesses that are ‘rural-specific’ – from farmers to horticulture, equine and country sports businesses.
It finds that 69 per cent of farmers and rural-specific business owners have been a victim of crime over the past 12 months – with fly tipping, wildlife crime, the theft of equipment and criminal damage the offences most commonly faced.
60 per cent say they are fairly or very worried about becoming a victim crime in the future – with nearly half (48 per cent) saying their quality of life is being moderately or greatly affected by crime.
57 per cent have been a victim of fly tipping in the past year with the average clean-up cost to the business owner over £1,000 a time.
The financial impact of crime more generally is significant – the average cost per offence has gone up by 13 per cent since 2015 to £4,800 while only 28 per cent told us they made a claim on their insurance.
The majority of victims believe the perpetrators were local but organised, believing they were specifically targeted.
20,000 respondents
The survey was commissioned by the National Rural Crime Network which is made up of 30 Police and Crime Commissioners from across the country, supported by a wide range of other bodies with an interest in community safety and rural affairs.
Over 20,000 residents and business owners completed the survey nationwide which found that perceptions of policing in rural communities are poor - and getting worse.
Only 27 per cent of respondents say their local police are doing a good job – 11 per cent lower than when the same question was asked in 2015, and lower than the national figure from the Crime Survey of England and Wales which finds 62% rate the police in their area as good or excellent.
The Network has produced recommendations as a result of the survey, including the need for a Chief Constable to change the policing of rural communities and a more general understanding of rural crime and its impact.
'Trust is down'
Julia Mulligan is the Chair of the National Rural Crime Network and Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire. She says the survey must be a wake-up call for those in positions of power.
“These results are stark and worrying for farmers and rural businesses. Crime is up. Anger is up. Frustration is up. Trust is down. Those rating the police as good is down. With 10.3 million people living in rural areas, these are trends we can no longer ignore,” she says.
“More must be done to engage and communicate with farmers and specific rural businesses who are the lifeblood of our rural economy. Rural businesses are bearing the brunt of crime, it is often targeted and carried out by organised groups, and policing needs to provide action and reassurance to those specifically affected.
“Every decision affecting national policing moving forwards, from funding to safety and security, has to be set against the findings of this report. This report needs to be listened to in the future when decisions on funding are being made, we can no longer continue to see funding being sucked from rural areas to urban.
Ms Mulligan added: “It simply isn’t good enough and politicians need to sit up and listen.”
Research was carried out between 18 April and 10 June by independent research company The Buzzz. In total 20,252 responses were received from across England and Wales.
'Dedicated rural police'
The NFU, which sits on the executive board of the NRCN as its only farming representative, has called for dedicated rural police teams to better protect already isolated and vulnerable areas.
NFU Deputy President Guy Smith said: “These new figures reinforce what farmers and rural businesses have known for many years – rural crime is on the rise and dedicated rural police resource is needed to tackle the problem.
The NFU has called for a dedicated rural police team in each force to tackle the growing problem.
“We have seen some great examples of police forces getting on the front foot with its rural policing and it is now time to see other forces following suit,” Mr Smith added.
“The fact that over two-thirds of farmers and rural businesses have been victims of crime in the past 12 months shows that appropriate action needs to be taken to ensure farmers can do what they do best – producing safe, traceable and affordable food for the nation.
“The NFU will continue to work with government, police forces and Police and Crime Commissioners to work towards solutions that allow farmers, who already feel isolated and vulnerable, to be better protected.”
