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RURAL CRIME UPSURGE BREEDS `SIEGE MENTALITY'
021645 JUL 00
By Alistair Keely, PA News
Rural communities are infected by a "siege mentality" as criminals target
the countryside, insurers said today.
Criminals are shifting their attention from the towns and cities and using
the motorway network to plunder "easy pickings" in the countryside.
Rural insurers NFU Mutual said the cost of theft from homes and businesses
in the countryside rose by 6% in 1999, amounting to around �168 million for
the year.
The company believes many farmers have learned their lesson and are much
more security conscious, but the warning appears not to have reached
homeowners and businesses.
The cost of equipment and vehicle thefts from farms fell from �93 million in
1998 to �82 million in 1999.
The figures, disclosed today at the Royal Show in Warwickshire, come against
the backdrop of the Tony Martin case.
Crime in the countryside has become a major political issue following the
murder conviction of the Norfolk farmer who was jailed for shooting dead a
teenage intruder who broke into his isolated farm.
Martin's conviction sparked an outcry in some rural communities, who claim
they are being left to defend themselves with little or no police protection.
Pamela Oldfield, head of NFU Mutual's Risk Management Services, said the
reduction in rural policing was a "contributory factor" in the rise in crime.
She added: "We would like to see more police in rural areas."
NFU Mutual Underwriting Manager, Sid Gibson said: "It certainly appears that
the fear of crime, combined with the effects of the farm income crisis and
other problems affecting life in the countryside, is leading to serious
depression in many people and even a siege mentality in a minority.
"Although we have seen a fall in the cost of thefts from farms, the rise in
domestic theft does lend weight to the theory that improved security in urban
areas, combined with the country's extensive motorway network, is leading
would-be thieves to believe there are easy pickings to be had in rural areas.
He added: "In past times one of the joys of living in the countryside was
the low level of crime, but sadly it's not safe to leave doors unlocked
today."
NFU Mutual spokesman Tim Price said the rise in thefts from homes and
businesses was worrying.
He said: "It is against the backdrop of the Tony Martin case that people are
becoming increasingly concerned about crime, particularly the fear of crime.
"It has been compounded by the decline in farm income and the general
feeling that the countryside is being left behind."
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