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New partnership aims to tackle crime in rural areas

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A new crime fighting partnership is hitting the fields and farms of rural Oxfordshire. The Rural Crime Partnership is bringing together Thames Valley Police, West Oxfordshire, South Oxfordshire, Vale of the White Horse District Councils and the Community Safety Partnerships to tackle crimes such as fly-tipping, burglaries and theft in rural areas.

There will also be more support for local communities on crime prevention as well an increase in the gathering and sharing of information about rural crime.

“Rural crime really affects our communities, and we hope that with the close link to farms that the Rural Crime Advisor will have, along with DNA marker kits, we can send a clear message that Thames Valley is a hostile environment for rural criminals, and we are committed to supporting our rural communities.”

Project lead, Deputy LPA Commander for South and Vale, Chief Inspector Rachel Patterson.

Rural crime affects victims’ livelihoods, physical and mental wellbeing and that of the wider community. In 2023, the National Farmers’ Union reported a 22 per cent increase in the value of rural crime with costs reaching a total estimate of £49.5m across the UK.

The project has been made possible thanks to £156k funding the partnership secured from the Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley and the Home Office’s Safer Streets initiative.

Initiatives include:

  • New covert cameras to be used by the Police’s Rural Crime Taskforce alongside off-road bikes to target criminals in hard-to-reach areas.
  • Working with farmers to improve security. Farms will be eligible to sign up for security checks and will be given DNA marking kits for agricultural machinery.  These kits include property marking labels to deter theft, and where theft happens enable machinery to be tracked back to the farm.
  • A new Rural Crime Advisor will work to promote rural crime prevention and engage with rural communities, industries, farms and organisations such as Young Farmers and the National Farmers’ Union, to help them become harder to target for criminals.
  • New surveillance equipment will help district councils catch fly-tippers and tackle hot spot areas.

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