National Rural Crime Network launch the ‘rural policing matters’ campaign

Trust in police is much lower in rural areas compared to urban areas, a report finds

Julia Mulligan, Chair of the National Rural Crime Network (NRCN) and Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, has today launched the Network’s ‘rural policing matters’ campaign.

Research from the NRCN, which will be released next month, shows trust in policing is much lower than residents of urban areas, and that only a third of people living or working in rural areas believe the police are responding to issues of concern to them (compared to two thirds nationally). Rural crime is also significantly under-reported.

On behalf of rural people, the Network is urging the government to reconsider the proposed changes to how police forces are funded, and is encouraging members of the public to respond to a consultation being held by the Government. The proposed new formula does not take into account the unit-cost of policing a rural area, and nor does it reflect the majority of work the police do which is not in fact crime-related – such as road safety or responding to welfare issues.

The Network will be encouraging as many rural residents as possible to respond to the Government’s consultation individually, urging the new police funding formula to recognise the inbuilt complexities of dealing with crime in rural, isolated areas. The public will also be invited to sign the ‘rural policing matters’ petition. Anyone interested can see more information here - http://www.nationalruralcrimenetwork.net/work/rural-policing-matters/

Julia Mulligan, Chair of the National Rural Crime Network, said “There is real concern both from representatives of rural communities like our Network, and those communities themselves, that without proper resourcing for rural police forces than some crimes and anti-social behaviour might not get the attention they deserve.”

“Trust in policing is already very low, especially when compared to urban residents, and if the government doesn’t sufficiently recognise the needs of rural people, and therefore rural policing, that trust will only diminish. We may then be in a vicious cycle of under-reporting, because of lack of trust and resources to deal with issues, which will then lead to further under-reporting.”

“If you are a concerned member of a rural community, we want you to make your voice heard by responding directly to the Government’s consultation, and to sign the ‘rural policing matters’ petition. You can find all the information on the Network’s website.”