Rural crime: Burgled Powys couple urge police collaboration

John and Elen Jones's farm is four miles from the nearest village, which they say can make it difficult to catch the criminals

A couple who have had tens of thousands of pounds of equipment stolen from their farm say more needs to be done to tackle rural crime.

Elen and John Jones from Llanerfyl in north Powys were left "shaken" after three burglaries in 10 years left them without vital farming equipment.

Statistics from 2022 show the cost of rural crime was £1.3m.

It comes as the Welsh government announces it is collaborating with police forces.

The first Wales Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy, being launched on Thursday at the Royal Welsh showground in Llanelwedd, Powys, hopes to tackle crimes including theft of agricultural equipment, livestock offences, and the destruction of wildlife and their habitats.

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'Tens of thousands lost'

Elen and John put the value of the goods stolen from them in the past decade in the tens of thousands of pounds.

These include Land Rovers and trailers that are essential to their farm.

While they got a lot of money back from their insurance, it did not cover the cost of repairs, and said "there was not much police could do".

On one occasion a truck had tracking capabilities, and police were able to locate it to Telford in Shropshire, but John said without that they would not have not had any information.

John and Elen Jones have been robbed three times and say rural crimes need to be taken more seriously

Elen said she still feels "shaken" and particularly vulnerable to have been targeted on her farm that houses lambs, cattle and their dogs.

John said he did not realise until later quite how much it affected him. It made them feel they needed to take extra precautions, double checking gates in the night and installing expensive security measures.

The couple said it remained a problem for all farms in the area, with what they believed were organised and targeted attacks.

'It is a terrible strain'

Elen said while there was often the attitude that "nothing much can be done", she hoped more collaboration between police forces would help targeted rural areas.

"I think we're just frustrated, we do feel that not enough is being done because it's just the same old story," she said.

"You hear about these thefts don't you, and we know how emotional it can be on everybody.

"It is a terrible strain on top of everything else. It's frightening,"

In 2021, the value of rural theft was valued at £1.3m, down from £1.6m in 2020

Chris Alford, a farmer in Brecon, Powys, who has multiple items stolen over the years - from a Land Rover to an electric fence - said he has felt "neglected" when reporting crimes in the past.

He said rural crime is a "massive problem" and believes that because many farmers don't even bother reporting crimes the true extent of the problem isn't even known.

"I reported the last thing I had stolen… I had a phone call back maybe two or three days later, I had no visit to the farm, I felt a bit neglected," Mr Alford told BBC Radio Wales.

"Urban crime seems to take priority, but rural crime - hopefully with this new strategy - will be up there a bit more."

'Forgotten industry'

Abi Reader, of the National Farmer's Union Cymru, welcomed the new strategy as she said farmers and those living in rural areas often feel "forgotten" when it comes to crime.

Abi Reader said rural crime can often feel "threatening" due to isolation

"For a lot of farmers they just feel like they're not being noticed... It's incredibly frustrating, it does make you feel as if you are the forgotten industry," she said.

'Devastating impact'

Thursday's conference will set out a new strategy to cover six priority groups - bird crime; farm crime; habitats; mammals and European protected species; Welsh police rural supervisors; and mental health and domestic abuse.

The aim is to develop networks in which forces can work together, and develop training for broader issues.

The Welsh government said it would also help with data collection and using new technology to protect rural communities and wildlife.

It will be led by Wales' Rural and Wildlife Crime Coordinator Rob Taylor, who said such crime "can have a devastating impact, affecting rural communities, farmers, wildlife as well as habitats and our heritage".

Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths says working together will help tackle the problem

"The launch of this first ever made in Wales strategy to integrate rural and wildlife crime, will be vital in bringing Welsh government, police forces and partners together alongside my role as coordinator to tackle such offences," he said.

He added they want to "prepare, prevent, pursue and protect" from these crimes.

Rural Affairs Minister Lesley Griffiths called it "a big step forward in tackling rural and wildlife crime in Wales".

"A key theme of this is partnership working and only by working together towards our common goal can we succeed," she said.