Ability of police to respond in rural areas is fading, says MP
THE ABILITY of the police to respond to the needs of rural communities is “fading away”, Labour have claimed.
Shadow policing minister Louise Haigh, MP for Sheffield Heeley, said communities were being isolated as a result and warned the Government’s “reckless and ideological approach” to policing had left every community exposed to crime.
Opening an Opposition Day debate on rural policing, Ms Haigh cited figures from the National Farmers’ Union which suggested four in 10 people in rural areas fear crime - “double that of individuals in urban areas”, she said.
“Two thirds think that the local police fail to deal with the problems that matter to them: twice as many as the national average.
“What these figures show is that the ability of the police to interpret and respond to the needs of rural communities is fading away, leaving those communities isolated.”
Ms Haigh said one of the greatest challenging to the country’s policing model was its ability to provide a consistent service to every victim and offender regardless of where they live.
She told the Commons there was “perhaps a sense that has crept in as budget cuts bite that rural crime is more trivial”, but warned: “On top of the traditional types of rural crime, crime is mutating and rural communities are no longer immune to serious crime.”
Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins said she was committed to providing police with resources. She said: “We understand the wish that rural communities are not disadvantaged in the delivery or quality of public services to tackle crime and the Government is committed to providing police forces in England and Wales with the resources they need to do their crucial work.”