Have your say on rural crime

In a rural county like Wiltshire, it’s so important to keep on top of how Wiltshire Police are responding to and dealing with all forms of rural crime. Recently we’ve seen a few cases of fly-tipping and hare coursing which is just not acceptable.

Work is continuing to improve this as a police force, and I included it in the priorities set out in my Police and Crime Plan. I’ve also recently teamed up with the other five Police and Crime Commissioners from across the South West to launch the regional Rural Crime Survey.

As the voice of the public in policing, I am very keen to better understand my constituents’ views on these issues, their experiences of rural crime and what concerns them most. I also want to understand what improvements have been made since the National Rural Crime Network ran a similar survey in 2018, and what we still need to put more resource into.

In Wiltshire, our relatively small rural crime team deal with a broad range of crimes including all heritage and wildlife matters such as theft of livestock and machinery, fly tipping, poaching and hare coursing - to name just a few. Therefore, it’s important we support their work with valuable and accurate data on what really matters to our residents.

I would be very grateful if as many people in Wiltshire would participate in this survey as possible – no matter what part of the county you live in. By taking just a couple of minutes out of your day you will be helping me to understand how I can continue to make Wiltshire safer.

You can take the survey online here.

Published Friday 18 August 2023