The Ulster Farmers Union has written to all of Northern Ireland’s Policing and Community Safety Partnerships (PSCP) to express concern that they could be doing more to tackle the issue of rural crime in Northern Ireland.
UFU Deputy President Barclay bell said; “Rural crime has always been an issue for the UFU due to its impact on rural businesses, the sustainability of these businesses and on local communities. Farmers are taking the rural crime message seriously and have already gone to great lengths to ensuring their livestock, property and belongings are secure. However, we do feel that PCSPs could be doing more in helping tackle this important issue. Our concern with PCSPs is that membership may not fully reflect the needs of that area and we question how a PCSP can respond to local issues if this is the case. We want to find out more about what actions are currently being taken by each PCSP across Northern Ireland to make their rural areas safer places and find out more about the rural representation on each PCSP, in particular farmer involvement.”
The UFU believes that in order to fully address the issue of rural crime it is essential that all stakeholders including farmers, rural dwellers, the PSNI and PCSP’s, work together on delivering solutions that will benefit local communities.
