View
comments
Nine in ten people living in the countryside have not seen a police officer in their local area in the last week, research has found.
The startling findings were revealed in a survey of those living in rural areas which painted a damning picture of crime in the countryside.
Rural crime including thefts, burglaries and fly-tipping cost an estimated £43.3million last year with thefts of agricultural vehicles remaining stubbornly high at a cost of £9.1million.
Local authorities recorded almost one million incidents of fly-tipping in the year leading up to the pandemic with reports of increases of up to 350 per cent in areas during lockdown.
Rural crime including thefts, burglaries and fly-tipping cost an estimated £43.3m last year with thefts of agricultural vehicles remaining stubbornly high at a cost of £9.1m (stock image)
Now, a survey of 3,000 people by the Countryside Alliance has found that seven in ten people have reported an increase in crime over the last 12 months.
Almost half of people - 48 per cent - also said they had felt intimidated by criminals or criminality over the last year.
But a shocking 89 per cent said they had not seen an officer in the last week - while more than seven in ten said they had witnessed a reduction in the number of officers or police stations in their local area.
Officer numbers dropped by more
