Rachel Gilmour MP calls for better funding into rural and coastal crime
MPs have penned a letter to the Home Secretary.
Liberal Democrat MPs have written to the Home Secretary to demand better funding for police services in order to tackle the scourge of rural and coastal crime.
On Wednesday, five senior police chiefs raised their concerns about the Government’s ability to deliver on their pledges to tackle serious crime.
In light of this, Rachel Gilmour (MP for Tiverton and Minehead) have called on the Government to invest more in rural policing.
Currently, just 0.4% of police officers in England and Wales are dedicated to rural crime.
In their letter, the Liberal Democrat MPs have stated there is not enough police resource to tackle rising rates of crime in rural areas.
The Liberal Democrats are also calling for a Copper Countryside Guarantee which would see dedicated rural crime teams of specialists embedded in every police force.
Liberal Democrat MP for Tiverton and Minehead Rachel Gilmour said:
“There is a scourge of crime in many of our rural and coastal communities. As a result, too many feel the police don’t take these crimes seriously enough and, in some cases, don’t even bother reporting it.
“Currently, only 0.4% of police staff are dedicated to rural crime teams, which is nowhere enough to tackle the rise of antisocial behaviour and other crime in rural communities.
“This is why we have written to the Home Secretary to demand more funding to tackle rural and coastal crime. The Liberal Democrats are calling for dedicated rural crime teams embedded in every police force.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe where they live. The Government must urgently step up and deliver the change that our rural and coastal communities deserve.”
The government says they've already put 800-thousand pounds of funding into rural crime and will continue to crackdown on the issue.