Rural crime remains under-reported – that’s the message from the Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner’s Office as it continues its campaign to tackle rural crime.
Deputy police and crime commissioner Sue Arnold leads on rural crime on behalf of Staffordshire PCC Matthew Ellis and is the representative for Staffordshire on the National Rural Crime Network.
In the light of the outcome of the 2018 National Rural Crime Survey, published by the NRCN, Mrs Arnold is due to review the national outcomes against the responses and concerns delivered by the people of Staffordshire.
And the DPCC wants to improve confidence and cut crime within Staffordshire’s rural landscape – by commissioning exclusive-to-Staffordshire research into rural crime to establish and understand how it impacts on those communities.
The headline Staffordshire figures in the NRC survey claim that, of those people impacted by crime, 41 per cent reported it to the police directly, with a further 18 per cent having the crime reported by a third party. Forty one per cent didn’t report the crime – two per cent because the police were already there, with the rest stating it was never reported as a crime.
As an overall picture, only seven per cent were ‘very worried’ about being victims of crime, with 32 per cent stating they were ‘fairly worried’. More than 60 per cent were either ‘not very worried’ (52 per cent) or ‘not at all worried’ about being on the receiving end of crime.
‘Staffordshire has vast areas of rural and agricultural land,’ said Mrs Arnold.
‘I have lived and worked in the rural community for 18 years so I am well aware of the unique challenges that face our communities on a daily basis.
‘We have had the results of the National Rural Crime Survey, which I will analyse and review. But, furthermore, I want to see a specific analysis of the county’s rural community, which is why I have commissioned a more in-depth study to understand the challenges faced by Staffordshire.
‘I would like to take this opportunity to thank our rural communities for taking the time and trouble for us to record the ninth highest response from 45 police force areas.
‘Crimestoppers is one way of reporting crime, but the overall picture is that rural crime remains underreported and people are still worried about being victims of crime.
‘We will address this in our strategy moving forward with Staffordshire Police.’
