The National Rural Crime Network's (NRCN) first annual Rural Crime Conference took place this week (Tuesday 27 June) and addressed some of the key crime issues facing rural communities. The central message from all of the speakers was that rural crime was serious and organised, but we must work together to tackle rural crime and keep rural communities safe. The Chairman of the NRCN, Tim Passmore, Police and Crime Commissioner for Suffolk, introduced the event by pointing out that no one person or organisation can tackle the challenges of rural crime alone, and the NRCN will continue to work with their existing partners and reach out to new ones to strengthen their work.
The day kicked off with a message from the Environment Secretary, Therese Coffey, who stated that police services must be accessible to all, no matter where you live. The main focus of her message was that organised crime is real in rural communities and penetrating. This was followed up by Rob Taylor from the Rural and Wildlife Crime Police Liaison unit in Wales which is at the forefront in tackling crime and sharing best practice. Mr Taylor said that this approach can only be effective if police forces have a dedicated Rural Crime Team with a strong presence in those communities. He went on to say that the bridges between farming communities and the police were crumbling in Wales before this unit was launched and it's success only speaks to the power behind such dedicated teams.
The conference was then addressed by Superintendent Andy Huddleston, head of the new National Rural Crime Unit, who said that rural crime has been less of a priority for policing in the past and that investment has always been elsewhere. Andy was very clear that this is going to change with the National Rural Crime Unit.
Next, we heard from Dr Kate Tudor from Durham University who presented the findings of her research on Organised Criminal Gangs, a report commissioned by NRCN. The research, titled ‘Making rural communities safe, understood, and secure’, identified that organised crime has a very heavy footing in rural criminality and that we need further evidence and access to data to be able to plan strategically and protect our rural communities. One of the biggest problems for the police is that those committing these crimes are not opportunistic. Dr Tudor believes we need to think bigger than Rural Crime Teams. Strategic support is a must when it comes to these issues and it starts with the recognition of the role of organised crime within this.
As the day contined, we saw a number of panel discussions focussing on fly-tipping, wildlife and heritage crime, and how we can build partnerships; the key to tackling rural crime.
As we all know, rural crime is a very emotive subject for those who live and work in rural areas and the persistence of these crimes can be crippling. Having the conversation on issues such as organised crime, wildlife crime and heritage crime at this conference is only the first step. But it is a vital one.
The Countryside Alliance, as one of the founding organisations of the NRCN, continues to support such campaigns and looks forward to continuing efforts to make rural communities safer.