Beef-up battle against rural crime, police chiefs urged
Police chiefs are being called on to forge closer links with rural communities in the fight against crime in the countryside.
More than 400 delegates are attending an annual rural crime conference held by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in Kettering on Thursday (8 November).
The direct costs of all rural crime rose to over £53m last year – despite a fall in tractor thefts, according to the latest NFU Mutal figures.
Increased frequency of metal and livestock theft, together with more losses of smaller but still valuable equipment such as quad bikes and tools, lie behind the rise.
“We need to keep adapting our delivery in order to stay one step ahead of the criminals,” NFU claims manager Matthew Scott told conference delegates.
Police and rural insurers were faced with the challenge of combating crime against a background of a very difficult funding environment, he said.
“We need to keep adapting our delivery in order to stay one step ahead of the criminals.”
NFU claims manager, Matthew Scott
“I know that ACPO has had to make some difficult choices and look to re-organise resources in respect of both rural and vehicle crime,” Mr Scott added.
A partnership between NFU Mutual and the police had seen the insurer make £300,000 available to support rural police operations since 2010.
Mr Scott said NFU would be a further £100,000 available to support police work in 2013. Details would be finalised with a new management team at Hampshire police in the coming weeks.
“We remain committed to our partnership with ACPO because we believe that continued collaboration in this area is vital to tackle sophisticated criminal activity,” said Mr Scott.
“The past two years have taught us that effective use of data and intelligence is key to winning the fight against criminals,” he added.
“We aim to further enhance our capability in these areas; for example by exploring how we can get more accurate information about the cost and location of metal theft to share with the police.”