Countryside Alliance Briefing Note: Rural Crime Survey

Results of the 2021 Countryside Alliance rural crime survey were released at the end of November. The results built on the previous year's survey and showed that one in nine people had not seen a police officer in the past week and seven in ten people reported an increase in crime over the past 12 months.

With concern about crime in rural areas growing it is not surprising that 46% of people who responded to our 2021 Rural Crime Survey told us they don't think the police take rural crime seriously and one in four did not bother reporting the crime to the police.

With an absence of a visible police presence, and the fact that rural crime is often not taken seriously, it is leaving those rural businesses and communities feeling undervalued and even more isolated, for which there is simply no excuse.

The implication of our findings is that we have a rural population simply putting up with the crime they experience and making do as best they can. There is often no escape from the effects of rural crime, with the fear of crime doing just as much damage as the crimes that are committed. It is clear from these results that there is a lot to do in tackling rural crime and working with communities to ensure the impact of it is lessened, and to tackle the crime problems rural communities face.

You can read our full briefing note, here.