PCC shines the spotlight on rural crime prevention as national awareness week begins.

Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen has shared details of the significant projects underway to protect rural communities and businesses from crime as a national week of action launches.

National Rural Crime Action Week runs from 21st to 25th October and casts a positive light on the improvements being made across England and Wales to tackle rural crime and enhance support for rural residents, farmers and businesses.

NFU Mutual’s latest figures estimate the cost of rural crime in the North East at £8.6m in 2023 – a 7.3% increase on the previous year – while nationally the figure stands at £52.8m.

Since first being elected in 2021, the County Durham and Darlington PCC has undertaken extensive engagement with rural residents, farmers and businesses to determine the issues that impact them most.

Previous survey data revealed a huge proportion of rural residents in the county had experienced fly-tipping incidents (82%) while 23% of rural residents said they had experienced vehicle theft. Livestock theft (19%), dog attacks on livestock (15%), crop damage (9%) and plant theft (9%) were also high on the list.

Rural residents also frequently raise issues of anti-social behaviour (ASB), speeding, off-road biking, illegal hunting, wildlife cruelty, drug dealing/use, dog fouling and vandalism as problems that negatively impact their lives.

In response, the PCC included ‘Safer Countryside’ as a key priority in her original Police and Crime Plan.

She funded new Community Speedwatch vans with onboard technology to clock multiple speeding motorists in rural communities as well as automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras to track the movement of offenders and stolen machinery through the county. She also funded GPS trackers and other advanced technology including drones to support the work of investigating officers.

Last year, the PCC agreed to invest £20k into 10 new re-deployable CCTV cameras and related equipment in support of Durham County Council’s work to target fly-tipping hotspots across the county and bring more offenders to justice.

And to address the menace of off-road bikes, the PCC contributed funding towards Operation Endurance – an all-year-round operation which sees officers seizing bikes on the spot if they are being ridden illegally and anti-socially. The force now uses a range of tactics including drone technology to tackle this top public concern.

As part of an ongoing crackdown on ASB, the PCC secured a place in the national ‘hotspot policing’ pilot and associated Immediate Justice scheme which has delivered thousands of extra patrols across rural and urban areas of the county and perpetrators made to ‘give back’ to their communities as punishment.

More recently, the PCC unveiled the Rurali project which represents one of the biggest investments to date in rural crime prevention in the county and has seen more than £200k of Safer Streets funding directed into two new Ruralwatch Coordinators and a dedicated intelligence officer to capture and develop intelligence gleaned from Ruralwatch WhatsApp groups.

The new initiative will ensure more of the public’s concerns and suspicions about rural crime are actioned as early as possible to prevent further harm and losses, bring more criminals to justice, and to increase feelings of safety in the countryside.

Commissioner Allen said: “Rural crime has a profound effect on the people who live, work or visit our countryside. From dog fouling and fly-tipping, through to illegal hunting, hare coursing and plant theft, rural communities are plagued by unique problems that require a unique response.

“This is why, as PCC, I have worked hard to bring the experts together to see what work we need to do – collectively – to make our rural communities safer. And I have backed this up with substantial investment to ensure we have the tools and technology to respond to the problems that matter most to our rural communities.

“No one knows our communities better than the people who live in them. This is why it is so important to me to empower residents to play their part, and this is the key aim of the Rurali project. This initiative will provide the infrastructure needed to be able to quickly action any risks or threats to prevent further harm and losses in our countryside.”

The Commissioner or members of her team will be visiting rural communities throughout National Rural Crime Action Week to raise awareness of Rurali and how it will benefit rural communities and businesses, as well as how to get involved. This includes visits to Darlington Farmers Mart and St John’s Chapel Tupp Sale and Show in Barnard Castle and a Rurali launch event at Satley Parish Hall in Bishop Auckland.

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