Police Crime Commissioners 'needed for rural crime'

The election of the new Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), due in November, offers a key opportunity to raise concerns and secure commitments to help tackle the rising problem of rural crime, NFU Cymru President Ed Bailey told members at the Angelsey Show today.

The Westminster Government has decided to replace ‘invisible’ police authorities with directly elected PCCs in order to forge a direct link between the police and the public, ensuring that the public have a voice in setting police priorities and to enable the public to hold the police to account.

“Sadly, over the past decade rural crime has increased to such a level that it is now accepted as a fact of life for people living and working in the countryside" said Bailey.

The public will be able to elect a PCC on 15 November 2012.

“PCCs will have a vital role to play in ensuring that rural policing is effective. Recently published figures from leading rural insurer NFU Mutual revealed the true extent of the problem in Wales; rural crime totalled an estimated £2.3 million during 2011, with the UK-wide cost of ‘agri-crime’ up 6% to an estimated £52.7 million.

“In addition to theft of property and livestock, illegal and inappropriate use of 4x4 vehicles and motorbikes, livestock worrying, fly grazing of horses on farmers land and horses being turned illegally onto common land are all issues that are more frequently coming to the attention of the Union.   

“I urge people living in the countryside to extract promises from candidates, before the elections in November, about their plans to tackle rising rates of rural crime, and to ensure that sufficient resource is made available for rural policing.”

The NFU has prepared a manifesto for the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections in the autumn to help members challenge candidates to make commitments that will assist both the farming industry and rural communities.

Bailey concluded “In some areas there may be hustings that provide an opportunity to press for commitments, but elsewhere we may need to simply send our manifesto to candidates and ask for confirmation that they will take the action we are looking for.”