RURAL CRIME REPORT 2024: 'Farmers tell us that Rural Crime is an increasing problem for Medway's rural communities' - say local Lib Dems

Medway Liberal Democrats are responding to the National Farmers Union Mutual's new Rural Crime Report 2024, published on 1st August shows that the cost of rural crime rose to £52.8m in 2023.

Our March survey revealed crime was a significant problem in Medway's rural areas with farmers feeling that policing the countryside is not a priority. Farmers told us that they have encountered thefts of vehicles such as tractors, quad bikes and other all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). 
 
Kent and Medway currently sit fifth out of all counties in England for the highest cost of rural crime, with farmers losing £1.9m worth of equipment in 2022.' - Source: Country Land and Business Association (CLA). Organised criminals, including those linked to the international drug trade, are targeting rural communities according to a new report from the National Rural Crime Network. 
 
One Medway farmer told us that joyriders regularly race around his field at night with quadbikes and cars resulting in crops being damaged and farm gates being destroyed by vehicles smashing through them at high speed. He told us that he has had to deal with the theft of livestock and fuel theft - including heating oil, diesel and petrol.

Liberal Democrats welcome the news that the number of officers have increased in Kent's Rural Crime Taskforce. Despite this Medway farmers have told us that they feel rural crime still is not enough of a priority for the police. Liberal Democrats are calling for more investment in frontline policing, ensuring that every police force has a properly resourced rural crime team. Nationally, not a single police force has more than 1% of its officers and staff deployed to rural crime teams. Liberal Democrats are arguing that every force should have a specialist coordinator in their rural crime team, in line with recommendations from the National Rural Crime Network. 

Fly-tipping brings both environmental and economic destruction, often at an industrial scale. Across Medway, Lib Dems have seen for ourselves waste dumped from building work that can harm animals. In Medway 4,664 incidents were reported in the 2022-23 period, an increase of 95 from the previous year. However, Medway Council only issued 52 fixed penalty fines, compared to 158 in 2021-22. There were also fewer prosecutions made through the courts. (www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent)

Despite the growing threat of rural crime, farmers say police forces are treating it as a small-scale issue, leaving people in the countryside living in fear. We believe that it is vital that rural police forces recognise the changing nature of this crime and respond accordingly, Graham Colley our candidate for Police and Crime Commissioner election highlighted this in his campaign. 

Alan Wells, Medway Liberal Democrats campaigner said "Farming communities in Medway should not have to put up with this level of rural crime. There must be serious action to combat the damage being done to our farming and agricultural land, as well as all those who live in the countryside. Growing up on a farm and rural area on the Hoo Peninsula, I know first-hand the impact of rural crime goes well beyond the practical business of farming."  

Liberal Democrat Rural Affairs Spokesperson Tim Farron MP said: “Rural communities are suffering badly after years of neglect by the last Conservative Government. Far too many criminals are getting away with stealing millions of pounds worth of equipment from our farmers. This needs to change. Rural communities deserve much more focus within government, including a proper strategy to combat rural crime that costs our economy so much.” 

More needs to be done in prevention, gathering intelligence and enforcement. Medway Liberal Democrats are calling for a consistent and coordinated response across Kent and Medway. The importance of collaboration between farmers, policymakers and police forces to effectively tackle rural crime cannot be understated. It is now time to acknowledge that if we want to stop the organised crime gangs we have to better protect our Medway's farms, businesses and rural communities.

ENDS

Notes to Editors and Additional Text:

NFU Mutual’s Rural Crime Report 2024, published on the 1st August, is available here.

https://www.nfumutual.co.uk/farming/rural-crime/
 
As of September 2023, there were 147,098 FTE police officers and 79,688 FTE police staff and designated officers. Source: Home Office, Police workforce, England and Wales: 30 September 2023. 

Although there is no widely agreed definition, rural crime is defined by the National Rural Crime Network as “all crime and anti-social behaviour occurring in rural areas. This includes problems typically associated with the countryside such as wildlife and heritage crime, farm equipment and animal thefts.

Despite pleas from rural voices including the National Farmers Union, no coordinated strategy has ever been produced by the Conservative Government on addressing rural crime. Liberal Democrats want the Home Secretary to set up an independent task force to produce a strategy on tackling rural crime and implement that strategy.

These disturbing revelations come as rural crime remains on the rise. NFU Mutual’s 2023 Rural Crime Report revealed that in 2022, the cost of rural crime across the UK rose by 22%, to an estimated total of £49.5 million. The Liberal Democrats are arguing that every force should have a specialist coordinator in their rural crime team, in line with recommendations from The National Rural Crime Network.