STRATEGY Protecting Rural Communities from Harm. Supt. Chris Hilery Chief Inspector Tom Thompson

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1 STRATEGY Supt. Chris Hilery Chief Inspector Tom Thompson

2 2 INTRODUCTION The Chief Constable and his Chief Officer Team have outlined their aspiration to tackle rural crime. As a Force, we are determined to work in partnership with rural communities to reduce the harm caused to them by crime. This document, inspired by the National Decision Making model and owned by a Gold Commander, outlines Northamptonshire Police s strategy for rural action, including tackling rural crime. Behind this strategy is a Tactical Plan, owned by a Silver Commander, which tracks the tactics used to deliver the strategy. To make Northamptonshire the safest place in England requires us to recognise and understand the differing needs and challenges of our urban and rural communities. This is important as Northamptonshire is well above the national average of 17% of people living in rural locations, with almost a third of our population living in and around rural towns. This Rural Policing strategy is a welcome development and will strengthen Northamptonshire Police s ongoing work to tackle rural crime and protect people from harm. It also signals our determination to ensure that all communities have the confidence to work in partnership with the Police to tailor how the Force deals with rural crime issues. This strategy, along with our new Parish Special Constables, underlines our commitment to policing rural Northamptonshire. Not only are we making rural crime a priority, but we want to work in partnership with local communities and Parish Councils to ensure that there is a warranted front-line officer available to reassure residents and prevent and tackle rural crime Foreword by Police and Crime Commissioner Adam Simmonds STRATEGY

3 3 Northamptonshire is a predominantly rural county with large areas of beautiful countryside and villages, with vibrant communities that many people enjoy living and working within. Rural communities, by their very geography, can feel vulnerable to crime and where crime does occur this can have a significant impact on the people living and working there. It is vitally important that Northamptonshire Police works with communities to ensure our service is of the highest quality and people feel, and are as safe as possible. This Rural Action strategy reaffirms our commitment and will build on the last five year s success, which has seen a reduction in rural crime by 15%; a level of performance that bucks wider trends across the county and further afield and demonstrates what can be achieved by working together. Foreword by Chief Constable Simon Edens INFORMATION AND INTELLIGENCE The idea of rural crime and harm, and a subsequent need for rural action, has been growing in importance in recent years. Concerns within rural communities are complex, organised criminals are able to travel long distances, and financial pressures on public bodies mean well-publicised resource reductions. However at the centre of this debate is a lack of a settled national idea of what rural and rural crime mean, and therefore great difficulty in identifying what the issues are and indeed how to tackle them. Part of this work will be to test a single definition and measure the problems. Intelligence shows a very mixed picture for offending behaviour, with high value acquisitive crimes being cross-border and organised in nature, but many other matters being more local in nature. A thorough analysis of a clearly defined criteria will test our assumptions and provide a vital next step in our learning and actions. One of our first tasks has been to commission a new working definition of rural crime and a thorough problem profile analysis of this data. This has now been delivered and this version of the strategy aims to provide more detail around the delivery of this programme. THREAT ASSESSMENT As a largely rural county, there is a great deal of anecdotal evidence that many communities feel that resources are focussed in urban areas, leaving those who live in the countryside more vulnerable to crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB). Public confidence in police and partners can often be lower in less urban areas, even when our crime figures outside towns are much lower per 1,000 population. There is clearly a perception gap, which threatens public confidence and organisational reputation. The public in all communities need to be protected from harm, as does their property, and this is at the heart of the policing and wider Community Safety Partnership (CSP) mission. STRATEGY

4 4 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES Our Rural Action Strategy Protect people and their property from harm. Target those who cause harm and commit offences across the rural areas of our county. Increasetrust and confidence in the police and partners from members of public in our rural communities. Community Engagement Victims & Witnesses Communication Campaigns Voice - Promotion of service for victims or witnesses of rural crime Review of Community Connect and other communication channels Campaign calender devised Sector calender Ten point plan for Rural Action Rural Roads Farm/Agriculture Wildlife/Environmental, Rural Community Parish Constables How can you contribute campaign Stakeholders Performance ACPO lead Review against definition NF&RS Watch bodies NFU/CLA Training & Equipment Prevention Specialist rural crime trainingfarm/agriculture, Wildlife/ Environmental, Rural Community Rural safety toolkit - Fire/Force/Health Rural kit list Insights pilot RRV Pilot STRATEGY

5 5 KEY STRANDS AND WORKSTREAMS: Through the governance structure (detailed overleaf), the rural action programme will aim to deliver work under two main strands: Rural Crime (RC) Rural Policing (RP) The actions being undertaken for the rural action programme will be placed under the following specific work streams, which sit under the above strands: Analysis (RC) A problem profile has been completed to show the statistics for crime in rural areas since This has shown that, while rural crime is has fallen, the detection and recovery rate have remained at a high level. The National Rural Crime Network conducted a survey with around 17,000 people across the rural areas of the country and have provided forces, nationally, with recommendations of how to deal with rural issues. These recommendations have been fed into the tactical plan and are driving work forward throughout the county. Analysis work will continue throughout the life of the programme, and after, to ensure what we are doing is working. Communication (RC) We will maximise our capacity and ability to communicate effectively, in a timely and accurate way, with rural communities. This will be a dialogue, a two way process, and not merely a way for the police to give out our chosen messages. This in turn will help the confidence of communities in the ability of the police and partners to protect them and their property. Community engagement and multi-agency approach (RC) Against a background of reduced public sector budgets, effective working can only be carried out by cooperation and collaboration. This strategy will be closely aligned with the Force s overarching Community Engagement strategy, and we will engage and negotiate with our statutory and non-statutory partners in order to multiply our effectiveness. Cross border policing and rural crime (RC) A great deal of agricultural thefts involve high value plant and machinery. Modern equipment is expensive and complex, meaning it is attractive to thieves and extremely disruptive and costly to replace. This attracts organised criminals who can dispose of such items through mature networks, and who are prepared to travel to carry out these activities. Resourcing (RP) In tackling these issues it will be necessary to provide human and financial capital. The police and partners need to allocate these resources, proportionately, in order to achieve success in the long term. A key part of this will be Specials and Volunteers, and a branding of rural police teams as Rural Action Teams. Training (RP) We will review and improve training and equipment provided to rural officers and staff, and volunteers. This will maximise their ability to deliver against this strategy. STRATEGY

6 6 GOVERNANCE Governance of this strategy will be overseen and delivered through a Rural Action Gold Group, chaired by Superintendent Chris Hillery. Gold will assess and agree the Tactical Plan, and take responsibility for resourcing the relevant tactics. The purpose of this group will be to monitor ongoing performance against the strategic objectives, including progress against the Tactical Plan. The Gold Group will include representatives from operational policing, the OPCC, the Rural Crime Team, National Farmers Union (NFU), Country Land and Business Association (CLBA) and others on an ad hoc basis. The strategic lead will be accountable for the delivery of this strategy to the Deputy Chief Constable via the quarterly strategic performance and tasking meeting. Gold Commander Chief Inspector Tom Thompson Silver Commander Inspector Jon Lloyd The Tactical Plan will be led by the Silver Commander, Chief Inspector Gary Ashton. Silver will govern this by a series of monthly meetings, and by appointing any number of relevant functional or geographical Bronze Commanders as he or she sees fit. An example of the command structure at any point in time is shown below in Figure 2: Bronze Analysis Bronze Investigation Bronze OPCC Figure 2: Governance Various operational leads as required STRATEGY

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