Nearly six out of 10 do not think rural policing has improved since 2012

Nearly six out of 10 people living in the countryside do not think rural policing has improved since Police and Crime Commissioners were introduced in 2012.

The figures, from the Countryside Alliance’s annual rural crime survey, come ahead of elections for PPCs on 2 May, the same day as local elections.

There are currently 39 PPCs who are elected to make sure the police are run properly, with the Conservatives holding 30 of those positions, while Labour hold eight and Plaid Cymru one.

According to three-quarters of the more than 2,000 people who took part in the survey, it is felt crime has got worse in the last 12 months.

Over one in 10 (12%) feel unsafe after dark in their homes or communities – and 42% feel less safe than they did five years ago.

The situation is so bad that 16% say they have considered moving or leaving their local area because of crime – and 44% have “felt intimidated by criminality or criminals” over the last year.

More than a third of respondents experienced rural crime in the past year, but around three out of 10 of incidents were not reported to the police.

Half of these people said they thought reporting the crime was a waste of time, with 42% thinking the police would not be able to help.

Of those who did report a crime, nearly six out of 10 were dissatisfied with the police response, with a mere one in 20 very satisfied.

Of the half of people who have taken crime prevention measures, most have installed security lighting, as well as CCTV, video, or infra-red systems.

The most commonly experienced crimes were fly-tipping (37%), agricultural machinery theft (32%), trespass (31%), and wildlife crime/hare poaching (27%).

Sarah Lee of the Countryside Alliance said that the presence of a police and crime commissioner had done little to help rural communities.

She said: “The scale of rural crime and the fear it generates paints a bleak picture of the reality of what living in the countryside can mean for many people.

"Rural communities sadly feel there is a complete disconnect between themselves and their local police force, made even worse by such a lack of visible policing.

"We know that many forces have taken strides in separating their police officers into urban and rural teams – which is welcome – but there is clearly a long way to go to establish trust and confidence in rural policing."

A Home Office spokesman said: “We are committed to tackling rural crime, which is why we welcomed the rural and wildlife crime strategy published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council in September 2022.

"There are now a record number of police in England and Wales, and overall crime is down by 56%, excluding fraud and computer misuse.

"We are supporting forces in rural areas through funding for crime prevention measures, such as CCTV and better technology.”