'Crime wave' predicted as recession blights rural areas

The recession and a shortage of police could be paving the way for a rural ‘crime wave’ in the UK as theft figures spiral.

Rural thefts have risen almost 15% in the last year, according to figures from National Farmers Union (NFU) Mutual. Recent home office figures show that robberies in rural areas increased by 17.5% over the last three months, compared with that period last year. During 1991, when Britain was in the middle of the last recession, rural crime shot up by 240%. Tim Price, spokesman for NFU Mutual, said:

“There is real concern in the countryside that the recession will lead to a crime wave. We have seen sharp increases in rural crime in previous economic downturns - and we’re concerned that these worrying figures could mark the first evidence of a new rural crime wave.”

Police stations have been closing at an alarming rate in rural areas. Between 1997 and 2005, 384 closed in the shires as resources were diverted to inner city crime. Even before these closures 98% of rural parishes did not have a permanently staffed police station, and 92% had none at all. Tim Bonner, spokesman for Countryside Alliance, said:

“There are very low numbers of police in rural places. Sometimes you have one or two officers covering vast areas and it’s clear that police resources have been withdrawn from the countryside in a very significant way. This, coupled with the vulnerability of rural homes and businesses, means that national economic problems can cause more crime in the countryside than the city.”

Domestic heating oil, 4x4’s, welders and chainsaws are among the most commonly stolen items in rural areas, according to the NFU Mutual figures. Domestic oil tanks often contain up to 2000 litres, worth at least £700. Thieves either destroy the tank to get to the oil or drill a small hole, from which they can siphon oil. By siphoning off small amounts and plugging the hole thieves can keep going back to tanks and owners are unaware their oil is being stolen. Stefan Gidlow, Cambridge Countryside Watch Coordinator, said:

“The police have told me that rural crime is rising and more homes have been broken into in the last few months. I know the theft of fuel from homes is increasing and there is also a huge under reporting problem. Most people only call the police to get a crime number for their insurance claim. I think that because of the nature of fuel theft there is apathy about reporting it – once it’s in someone else’s tank, you can’t prove who stole it. At the moment police are not ruling out gangs, but it will be almost impossible to prove.”