My team and I went to Glooston to deliver our leaflet on improving Rural Policing in Leicestershire and Rutland. I'm a big fan of neighbourhood watch schemes and of parish councils. Both can play a productive role in linking the police to the local community, especially in places such as Glooston. But that will work effectively only if the police are prepared to put in the time and resources to work properly with parish councils and neighbourhood watch schemes.
And in a place like Glooston this needs to be part of a wider strategy to deal with Rural Crime. I want to see more police in our rural areas. I want to see high visibility policing in our rural areas. And I want our police to communicate frequently with the law abiding public. I think we should have:
- A Rural Crime Co-Ordinator who will bring together all the agencies who can help prevent crime in rural areas, and tackle it when it does happen;
- Rural Crime Packs available to residents and business to help them protect themselves and ease the fear of crime;
- A Rural Crimestoppers system to provide a quick, confidential channel that people can use to pass on information about crime and criminals.
- An online Rural Crime Hub a one stop shop for farmers and other rural businesses giving advice on crime prevention, how to report crime, who to call and two-way communication with police;
- Regular public meetings with the Police and Crime Commissioner and police officers;
- Effective support for Rural Neighbourhood Watch Schemes;
- A wide-ranging and properly supported Volunteers on Horseback scheme;
- Support for new legislation to make trespass a criminal offence.
Those are my ideas on what we can do to tackle crime in rural areas, but I'm always looking for the views of people who live in our countryside.
Please remember to take my Rural Crime Survey, which you can find here: https://www.rupertmatthews.org.uk/campaigns/rural-policing-campaign
