TACKLING RURAL CRIME – HELP US DEVELOP OUR RURAL CRIME STRATEGY 2022-2024
Date of alert:
Wednesday 9 February 2022
Crime Ref:
Force:
Essex Police
Essex Rural Partnership together with Essex Police and the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner are asking for your views on tackling rural crime in Essex.
The current Rural Crime Strategy was developed in 2017 and complemented the Essex Rural Strategy produced by the Essex Rural Partnership. Since the strategy was developed in 2017, there has been a significant increased focus on rural crime, with Essex Police now boasting one of the largest rural engagement teams in the country.
Countywide anti-social behaviour, theft and burglary have all fallen since 2017 as has the number of people killed or serious injured on our roads. Working with councils and partners across Essex we have also seen a significant reduction in the number of unauthorised encampments which has reduced steadily from 229 in 2018 to 158 in 2021. Similar reductions are also happening in relation to Hare coursing and the theft of large machinery. However, there is still far too much crime in our rural areas, and we want to do more together to tackle this.
Working with communities in rural Essex we have also developed a much better sense of the isolation and fear that comes with living in remote parts of the county. National research has also pointed to higher level of domestic abuse in rural areas and we hear from public meetings and discussions in our communities about the continued blight of drug use and dangerous driving.
We want to ensure that our approach to tackling crime in rural areas considers the specific nature of our rural communities and harnesses the strong community spirit we see and works with communities to prevent crime from happening, protects the vulnerable and supports victims of crime.
To have your say we are encouraging all members of our rural communities to come along to one of four workshops being organised around the county where you’ll get to meet members of the Essex Police Rural Engagement Team and have your say. Please see the dates below for the workshops.
