I News reports that an overwhelming majority of rural communities see crime as a significant problem in their area and half believe police are not taking crime seriously, according to a new survey

According to a Countryside Alliance survey, shared with i, 97 per cent of those surveyed said that rural crime was a “significant” issue in their community.

The most common crimes experienced by those polled were fly-tipping, agricultural machinery theft and trespassing, with other frequent offences including hare poaching and actions relating to animal rights activism.

Many respondents also claimed they had been forced to install crime prevention measures such as security lights, CCTV and extra security on vehicles due to an “increased fear” of crime.

Opposition parties said the results showed rural communities were “at the end of the queue” when it came to policing, and that trust in the police had “totally collapsed”.

The poll of 2,016 people found that 49 per cent did not think the police take rural crime seriously, and 90 per cent had not seen any police officers in their area in the last week.

Just 34 per cent rated the police in their area as “good” or “excellent” in 2022, down from 47 per cent in 2020.

Full article:

I News - Half of rural communities think police don’t take crime seriously, survey shows

The Countryside Alliance are members of the Rural Services Network. You can find out more about them here.