Farmers want police partnership to cut rural crime

Farmers say they want to see results from a police pledge to crack down on rural crime

Farmers in Surrey have called for an ongoing partnership with the police to help tackle a rise in rural crime.

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) has welcomed Surrey Police’s pledge to crackdown on rural crime, but said the farming community needed to see results.

The force pledged to visit every farmer in the county as part of its strategy announced earlier this month.

The NFU has called for "clear rural crime priorities and objectives to help deliver positive short and long-term results".

The union said Surrey farmers had been victims of numerous incidents in recent months, including suspected arson attacks, thefts, attacks on sheep, and fly-tipping.

Meetings with Surrey Police have taken place with the aim of working together to give farmers greater protection, it added.

'Positive step'

Harriet Henrick, from the NFU in Surrey, said: “Rural crime incidents have been escalating and farmers have become victims to some serious crimes. They need better protection.

“We want to work with the police to set clear objectives and targets for tackling rural crime and helping the rural community with anti-theft technology to support the police.

“We need better engagement and reporting from both the police and the rural community, so this is a positive step."

Supt Michael Hodder, from Surrey Police, said: "We have dedicated rural crime officers within the force who are continually speaking with farmers and landowners to understand the challenges they’re facing.

“There are already operations in place to enable us to tackle rural crime, and a key part of all the initiatives we either have introduced or will introduce in the future is about collaboration."