Last week, Richard attended an NFU Mutual event in Parliament where they released their annual rural crime report.
Richard Fuller MP said:
After several years of increasing levels of crime afflicting our rural communities, there is some encouragement in that we saw a 16% decrease in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Nevertheless, the crime figures are still extremely high with estimated costs in excess of £44 million and of course this doesn't factor in the additional 'hidden' costs that are incurred in terms of preventative security measures, time spent dealing with the impact of crimes and the increasing costs of policing our rural communities.
We are fortunate to have a committed and professional Beds Rural Crime Action Team - RCAT however they are stretched thinly across a very large county which limits their ability to respond immediately to the never-ending instances of burglaries, trespass, intimidation and hare-coursing.
The full report is available to view on the NFU Mutual website: https://www.nfumutual.co.uk/farming/rural-crime/
