West Mercia PCC welcomes investment to tackle rural crime
With one third of West Mercia’s communities living in rural areas, Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion has welcomed additional investment into the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the National Rural Crime Unit.
The £800,000 funding boost was announced by Policing Minister Sarah Jones at the National Rural Crime Network conference, attended by Deputy PCC Marc Bayliss, who sits on the network’s national project delivery group for serious organised rural crime.
This investment will help increase co-ordinated efforts across law enforcement, politicians, the farming community and insurers in a concerted effort to tackle rural crime.
West Mercia’s rural landscape makes it particularly vulnerable to criminal activity. According to the latest DEFRA census, the force area is home to 8,451 farms - more than double the number in Lincolnshire, which has the second highest total at 3,431.
To ensure rural communities who often feel isolated are not only safe but feel safe, the PCC is already taking significant action locally:
- Funding five Rural and Business Crime Officers across West Mercia.
- Investing £190,232 a year into West Mercia Police’s We Don’t Buy Crime initiative - a four strand programme aimed at preventing acquisitive crime in towns and villages, including the rollout of SmartWater.
- West Mercia Police call handlers have received dedicated rural crime training, through a partnership with the NFU, following concerns from farmers about how their reports were being understood and managed.
PCC John Campion said: “Rural crime is a key commitment within my Safer Communities Plan, so I welcome this additional funding to support local efforts to prevent crime and bring offenders to justice but it’s just one part of the solution.
“Rural crime is complex, with our rural communities facing a number of crimes that can often be complex. That’s why I will continue to amplify their concerns and ensure everything possible is being done to provide them with the policing service they expect and deserve.”
