A roundtable organised by the NFU and including Police and Crime Commissioners, the National Rural Crime Network, the National Rural Crime Unit, the Rural Services Network and farm insurers NFU Mutual has been set up to secure fairer funding for rural police forces.
Chaired by NFU vice-president Robyn Munt, the Fairer Funding Roundtable made the case that funding must accurately reflect the cost of delivering effective policing for rural communities.
NFU Mutual figures estimate that rural crime cost the UK £44.1m in 2024. While this was a decrease compared to 2023, the continuously high figures show the scale and seriousness of the issue.
The roundtable also highlighted the impact on businesses and people.
NFU Bedfordshire county chair Freya Morgan, who runs an arable farm in Bedfordshire, delivered a powerful and personal account of her own experiences, which span from hare coursing to vehicle theft. Speaking at the roundtable, she said: “Rural crime is real, we live in it, we see it. The farm is not only our place of work, it’s our home.”
NFU vice-president Robyn Munt said: “Too many farm businesses across the country are targeted relentlessly by criminals who see our countryside as easy pickings. These farms are also homes. Farming families are left feeling terrified, isolated and vulnerable at the hands of these dangerous criminals.
“The roundtable was in agreement – this has to stop. Everyone has a right to feel safe in their own home, and for their businesses not to be disrupted.
“We know how underfunded and overstretched rural policing currently is, and that is why the NFU is calling on the government to recognise the unique pressures facing rural police forces. Government must ensure that funding is distributed fairly so that the police can put a stop to these heinous criminals.”
Policy and Campaigns manager for the National Rural Crime Network, Stuart Hand, said: “The National Rural Crime Network welcomes the NFU roundtable and is clear: rural communities deserve a fair share of police funding. The current formula fails the countryside. We need a funding system that reflects rural demand and gives communities the policing they are entitled to.”
Police funding is primarily allocated from the Home Office, distributed through the Police Allocation Formula (PAF). This divides resources across policing activities with a specific element focused on population sparsity, which is a particular challenge for rural communities.
The formula to calculate allocations has been called outdated, using obsolete data, and is considered to no longer reflect the complexity or scale of demands on modern rural policing.