Prizes on offer for country crime fighters
A nationwide search has been launched to find the outstanding crime fighters who protect the UK’s countryside communities.
The Country Crime Fighters Awards 2012, run by insurer NFU Mutual, will celebrate and reward great examples of crime prevention and community safety in rural areas.
“Whether it’s the recession, tighter security in towns, or the rise in oil, meat and scrap metal prices, countryside people are feeling the blight of rural crime on their land,” says a spokesman for the NFU Mutual.
“However, they are not taking this scourge lying down. Across the country, new security initiatives are springing up involving rural communities. The aim of the awards is to find the UK’s best and most dedicated rural crime fighters whose actions have made the biggest difference to their local neighbourhoods.”
The four categories are:
- Individual Crime Fighter/Innovation Award (£500 prize money)
- Community Scheme Award (£1,000)
- Local Bobby Award (£1,000)
- NFU Mutual Agent Award (£1,000)
Research in 2011 showed that almost one in four rural dwellers (23%) said they were involved in a crime prevention initiative.
The judging panel, which comprises TV personality Adam Henson, NFU Mutual chairman Richard Percy and Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary Stuart Hyde – will be looking for evidence of “resourceful, effective” initiatives.
Mr Percy says: “Many countryside communities face an on-going fight against crime and regularly fight back with innovative solutions. We’re launching the Countryside Crime Fighters Awards to acknowledge the members of rural communities whose inventive crime prevention schemes often go unrecognised by the wider world.”