News
Rural crime is rising at its fastest rate since 2010, according to the latest annual report by UK rural insurer NFU Mutual. But crime in the countryside is about much more than thieves stealing tractors and other machine from farms – although that is a major problem too. This podcast speaks to a farmer whose family has been repeatedly threatened by a criminal gang of hare coursers – and asks are police getting the resources needed to catch those responsible? As well as farm theft and hare coursing, other offences taking their toll on farmers and rural communities include fly-tipping, dog attacks on sheep and livestock rustling. With police finances under pressure – calls are growing for fairer funding to ensure that the fight against rural crime is properly resourced. With Tim Price (NFU Mutual), Richard Beechener (Farmers & Mercantile), Jamie Burrows (Hertfordshire farmer and agricultural contractor), Deputy Chief Constable Craig Naylor (Lincolnshire Police and the National Police Chiefs Council), North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan (National Rural Crime Network), and Sam Durham (National Farmers Union).