Date
National Rural Crime Week launched Monday, 18th September, lasting until 24th September 2023. The campaign is organised by the National Rural Crime Network, which works to see greater recognition and understanding of the problems and impact of crime in rural areas so more can be done to keep people safer. The week-long campaign is also a way of highlighting the work that the UK’s Police and Crime Commissioners and their Forces do to tackle rural crime.
Rural and wildlife offences are a vital part of the response to fighting crime in North Wales and form part of the overarching priority of delivering safer neighbourhoods in North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), Andy Dunbobbin’s Police and Crime Plan for the region. Rural and wildlife crime is highlighted as part of the plan due to the particular features of this type of criminality and the significant impact that crime can have on rural communities.
Rural and wildlife crime can be very broadly classed as any crime and anti-social behaviour occurring in rural areas. There are four categories which North Wales Police uses to best describe rural crime: agriculture, equine, wildlife and heritage.
As part of Andy Dunbobbin’s commitment to North Wales rural communities and fighting crime, 2023 has seen a number of initiatives to fight crime and support communities.
- In August, a celebration took place at the National Eisteddfod in Boduan to recognise the contributions and achievements of north Wales Police’s Rural Crime Team. Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman, current PCC Andy Dunbobbin, former North Wales Police PCC’s, Arfon Jones and Winston Roddick and Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) and National Farmers Union Cymru representatives attended the event.
- May saw farmers and their families from across North-West Wales come together in Caernarfon for an event on Cyber Safety and Crime Prevention looking at ways our rural communities can better protect themselves from crime. The event was sponsored by the charity for farmers and their families, Tir Dewi; North Wales Police; the North Wales Police and Community Trust; and the Office of the PCC.
- In April, Andy Dunbobbin supported the launch of the Wales Wildlife & Rural Crime Strategy 2023-2025, a strategy jointly produced by Wales’ four police forces and Welsh Government, at the Wales Wildlife & Rural Crime Conference at the Royal Welsh Showground. The strategy focuses on crime affecting the agricultural community such as theft, livestock attacks by dogs, arson and burglary and outlines priority areas for rural policing officers.
- In February Andy Dunbobbin and Deputy PCC Wayne Jones met members of the local farming community in North Wales as part of the FUW Farmhouse Breakfast Week, which ran between Monday 23 and Sunday 29 January. The event, held at Dylasau Uchaf farm, Padog, Betws y Coed, home of FUW President Glyn Roberts and his family, was organised by the Caernarfonshire Branch of the FUW, and helps to raise thousands of pounds every year for good causes.
- Throughout the summer, the office of the PCC attended rural shows on Anglesey, at Denbigh and Harlech where they engaged with the farming community, FUW and NFU and listened to their thoughts and concerns. During the Eisteddfodd and throughout these shows, over 5,000 people visited the PCC’s stand. Another recent innovation has been new community surgeries, which have been held in a number of market towns in the region, such as Bala, Pwllheli, and Ruthin where the PCC has been further able to speak to our rural communities.
North Wales Police also recently launched their We Don’t Buy Crime campaign with the support of the PCC. This campaign is a cornerstone of the plan to fight crime in rural areas and, through the initiative, officers are encouraging farmers to make much greater use of SmartWater DNA marking to protect farm equipment. Applied and registered with a national register, SmartWater allows stolen equipment and machinery to be linked to the owner.
The Rural Crime Team have developed a specific Rural Crime Prevention Pack where we provide farmers and rural business with SmartWater forensic marking, robust deterrent signage, and tailored crime prevention advice. Over the coming years the team at North Wales Police aims to distribute packs to every farm in North Wales, numbering around 7,000.
North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin commented: “National Rural Crime Action week is an opportunity to shine a light on crime in rural areas and highlight the excellent work undertaken by North Wales Police and their Rural Crime Team to combat criminality in our rural communities.
“Key to a lot of our work to cut rural crime is working with communities to build their resilience. The more police, farming unions, the agricultural community, and residents of rural areas work together to stop rural and wildlife crime, the more effective we will be, and the sooner we can help put an end to these types of offences.
“I am deeply committed to our rural communities across North Wales. They are vital for our economy, for our wellbeing, and for our unique language and culture – both its heritage and its future.”
Find out more about NWP’s Rural Crime Team here: www.northwales.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/rc/rural-crime