Laurence Robertson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Laurence Robertson on 2015-10-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with chief constables about the prevalence of rural crime and the measures they are taking to counter it.

Mike Penning

Police reform is working and crime has fallen by more than a quarter over the last five years, according to the Independent Crime Survey for England and Wales. This means less victims of crime in rural areas as well as urban areas. Overall, people in rural areas are less likely to be the victim of household crime as those in urban areas, according to the Crime Survey. In addition, the 2014 Commercial Victimisation Survey found that crime against the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector was considerably lower than crime against the other sectors surveyed, the wholesale and retail sector and the accommodation and food sector.

The election of Police and Crime Commissioners has given communities – including those in rural areas – a strong voice in determining how police resources are allocated to tackle the crimes that matter most to them. I see this through the work the National Rural Crime Network, which is funded by the Police Innovation Fund, is leading to ensure police forces respond to crime in rural areas, as well as specific activity being taken by police forces across England and Wales