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Farmers' views sought in bid to draw up practical guidance to fight rural crime

Posted 30 April

Farmers and contractors across England and Wales are being urged to lend their voice to research aimed at stopping criminals seeing the rural sector as a ‘soft target.’ 

With rural crime estimated to have cost more than £44 million last year, according to  report, farmers and contractors are still very much in some criminals’ sights. 

So Dr Kreseda Smith, the Director of the Rural Resilience Research Group at Harper Adams, is urging farmers and contractors across England and Wales to speak about their experiences and feed into her research – to enable specific crime-fighting advice to be formulated, and to ensure policy-makers to receive a fuller picture of the issue. 

She is particularly looking to find out how decisions are made around the kind of crime prevention measures used on farms and at businesses, what has influenced these decisions – and why. 

Dr Smith said: “I am looking to speak to farmers and contractors across England and Wales who have been a victim of crime, or who might know other farmers or contractors who have been a victim of crime in the last two years. 

“This research is important because it will help us to develop a real understanding around farmer and contractor crime prevention decision-making. 

“We can then use the information to help other farmers and contractors to make effective and appropriate decisions around how to protect their agricultural assets.  

“Furthermore, this learning will also help develop guidance for crime prevention and security advisors - that will be tailored towards the needs of farmers and contractors.” 

With some criminals seeing agricultural crime as an ‘easy win’, Dr Smith believes that key advice can be drawn up for those who work to fight rural crime - by working to develop practical guidance which draws on farmers’ real-life experiences. 

She added: “A one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn’t work in such a diverse industry. 

“Instead, these interviews will feed into wider policy and practice recommendations aimed at policing and security advisors - to help them to provide appropriate advice on effective measures, which farmers actually use – and to help protect our farming communities from being seen as a soft target for offenders.” 

To arrange an interview, or to find out more, email Dr Smith at: theruralcriminologist@harper-adams.ac.uk