New rural crime strategy launched in Essex
Date of alert:
Saturday 11 March 2023
Crime Ref:
Force:
Essex Police
A new Rural Crime Strategy has been launched in Essex this week with the aim of tackling crime within rural communities and supporting vulnerable people.
Around 70% of Essex's land area is considered rural and around a quarter of the population live in rural communities.
On top of that, 14% of all crime is Essex is thought of as rural crime - that's over 23,000 offences in a year.
The previous strategy, which ran from 2017-2021, heralded some successes including a 70% reduction in the number of unauthorised encampments, a 10% reduction in hare coursing, and a 36% reduction in large machinery theft - according to the force.
The new strategy is prioritising the support of vulnerable communities, including victims of domestic abuse.
Stats provided by Essex Police suggest that over 19% of rural crime was domestic abuse related in 2022.
