YP Comment: NFU calls for new task force

Farmers are the lifeblood of our countryside communities but when it comes to rural crime all too often they face a '˜postcode lottery' that depends on the approach, and resources, of overstretched local police forces. Which is why the National Farmers' Union (NFU) is calling on the Government to create a cross-departmental rural crime task force to crackdown on criminal gangs.
By The Newsroom
Published 18th Jul 2017, 10:41 BST
Updated 12th Sep 2017, 12:25 BST
police on patrol for rural crimepolice on patrol for rural crime
police on patrol for rural crime

The NFU, which represents more than 55,000 farmers in England and Wales, warns there has been a sharp increase in the number of crimes being reported with farmers increasingly concerned about their safety.

Rural crime is big business, costing almost £3.5m a year in Yorkshire alone, and there simply has to be greater consistency in tackling it. Farmers cannot be seen as easy targets and those who prey on them must face the full force of the law, no matter where they are. It’s the very least our hard-working rural communities deserve.