39% of rural police forces lack a rural crime team, new survey finds

He said: “Farming is a stressful business where many are working on tight margins.

“Having to deal with replacing lost machinery, repairing a vandalised barn, or clearing up and bearing the cost of someone else’s fly-tipped mess, just adds unnecessary stress, eats away at meagre profits and takes up valuable time.”

The research found the average cost of a rural crime incident was £4,800.

‘Lack of enthusiasm’

As part of its plea, the CLA is calling for each rural police force to implement its five recommendations, which include having a dedicated rural crime strategy in place by May 2021.

It also suggests that every rural police force should have a dedicated rural crime team with an identified point of contact; undertake an audit of the equipment required to combat crimes in their locality; provide rural crime training for all new recruits; and identify their ambitions for rural areas.

One CLA member said: “We are acutely aware that police lack equipment, manpower and in some cases enthusiasm, to tackle rural crime.”

Mr Breitmeyer added: “Clearly, budgetary constraints are an issue, and we would like to see more forces being given the tools to combat rural crime seriously, but many have failed to match tough words and pledges to even the most tangible actions.”