Police get ‘raw deal’ in rural regions, says peer

Lords hear countryside suffering rise in crime

RURAL AREAS are getting a “raw deal” from national policing budgets, the chairman of a Lords select committee has warned.

Lord Foster of Bath, whose Rural Economy Committee is studying the economic impact of rural crime, said the situation comes amid a general decline in services for countryside communities, from Post Offices to bus routes.

He told The Yorkshire Post: “It is absolutely clear to me that in so many areas, rural areas have had a raw deal and that the cake has not been fairly sliced.

“This is true in respect of many aspects of service provision.

“It is in rural areas you see bank branch closures, we have seen Post Office closures, we have seen closures of village shops, we have seen a reduction in bus services in rural areas and so on, so there is no doubt that rural areas have had a rough deal.”

The cross-party committee has begun an inquiry into how rural crime, organised criminals and ‘county lines’ drugs gangs are having an impact on the rural economy, with a report on its findings due in March.

Lord Foster said information it had gathered so far, including a live evidence session in Parliament this week, had shown that more than 1,000 countryside police stations had closed, rural crime was up by 13 per cent on last year and the annual cost to communities had “risen quite dramatically” to £45m.

He added rural forces received 24 per cent less funding per head of population than their urban counterparts but often faced higher costs, leading to low levels of public satisfaction with the police.

Ministers have again delayed a long-awaited review of the police funding formula to at least 2020, with North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan describing it as “in the long grass” in this week’s evidence session. Lord Foster said the average cost of a crime to a farmer or rural business owner was £5,000, but “some of them are much higher and can have a huge impact on the viability of the business”.

He said improving rural policing would have a wider benefit on those in urban areas, who relied on the food and other goods produced in the countryside.

The Liberal Democrat peer said the final report was also likely to include a call to toughen up sentencing guidelines.

He said he had been contacted this week by a farmer whose business was targeted by a harecoursing gang who had “simply ripped off the top of his fuel tank”, causing the loss of thousands of pounds of fuel and contaminating his land. Lord Foster said a fine issued by the courts “was minimal”.

But he said there was cause for optimism, praising the establishment of the National Rural Crime Network.

A Government spokesperson said: “We are on the front foot in engaging with the police and recognise the changing demands they are facing. There is £1bn more of public money going into policing than three years ago.”

THE YORKSHIRE Post has been unstinting in its attempts to shine a light on the impact of rural crime upon its victims – and the limited resources available to police forces which cover the countryside in comparison to their urban counterparts.

As such, today’s warnings by Lord Foster of Bath, who chairs the House of Lords Select Committee on the Rural Economy, come as little surprise but underline the vital importance of tackling these problems.

The Liberal Democrat peer’s committee is currently examining the issue of rural crime ahead of publishing a report in spring next year, but what they have uncovered already is clearly a concern.

Lord Foster has described how rural forces are hamstrung financially, as well as the way in which current sentencing guidelines are not reflecting the devastating financial and emotional effect on people and businesses who are the victims of rural crime when perpetrators are brought before the courts.

But he has also connected the issue to the wider “raw deal” that rural areas in vast parts of Yorkshire and other areas of the country are getting. Under-funded police forces run parallel to bank branch, Post Office and village shop closures, as well as the ongoing loss of local bus services.

Rather than waiting for the final report, his words – which illustrate a situation which is already wellunderstood, particularly in this region – should be heeded by Government immediately rather than waiting to respond to the official report next year. Each day of delay brings more victims of crime who could have been better protected.