AN annual rural crime survey has revealed that nearly six out of ten people living in the countryside do not think rural policing has improved since Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) were introduced in 2012.

The Countryside Alliance has released the results of their annual rural crime survey, in which more than 2,000 people took part. The survey also reveals nearly three out of four (73 per cent) feel crime has got worse in the last 12 months.

It was also revealed that 12 per cent feel unsafe after dark in their homes or communities, and 42 per cent feel less safe than they did five years ago.

The Countryside Alliance survey found that 16 per cent of people say they have considered moving or leaving their local area over crime, and 44 per cent ‘felt intimidated by criminality or criminals’ over the past year.

Sarah Lee of the Countryside Alliance said: “The scale of rural crime and the fear it generates paints a bleak picture of the reality of what living in the countryside can mean for many people. Rural communities sadly feel there is a complete disconnect between themselves and their local police force, made even worse by such a lack of visible policing.

“It appears the presence of a police and crime commissioner has done little to help with bridging that gap either. We know that many forces have taken strides in separating their police officers into urban and rural teams – which is welcome – but there is clearly a long way to go to establish trust and confidence in rural policing.”

More than a third (35 per cent) of respondents experienced a crime in the past year but around three out of 10 (29 per cent) of incidents were not reported to the police. Half of these people said they thought reporting the crime was a waste of time, with 42 per cent thinking the police would not be able to help.

Of those who did report a crime, nearly six out of 10 (57 per cent) were dissatisfied with the police response, with a mere one in 20 very satisfied.

Of the half of people who have taken crime prevention measures: 72 per cent installed security lighting;  64 per cent installed CCTV, video, or infra-red systems and 17 per cent bought a guard dog.

The most commonly experienced crimes were fly-tipping (37 per cent), agricultural machinery theft (32 per cent), trespass (31 per cent), and wildlife crime/hare poaching (27 per cent).

A Home Office spokesman added: “We are committed to tackling rural crime, which is why we welcomed the rural and wildlife crime strategy published by the National Police Chiefs’ Council in September 2022, and are providing the police with the resources they need, after recruiting 20,000 additional officers.

"There are now a record number of police in England and Wales, and overall crime is down by 56%, excluding fraud and computer misuse, and we are supporting forces in rural areas through funding for crime prevention measures, such as CCTV and better technology.”