Stratford-on-Avon District Council is taking a proactive approach towards crime and its effects on those living in rural communities. The aim is to increase crime prevention awareness across the district and South Warwickshire as a whole, by engaging with rural communities and providing bespoke advice and solutions to victims of crime.
Rural Crime is a priority to the Safer South Warwickshire Community Safety Partnership and for the Police and Crime Commissioner.
If a crime has occurred you must contact Warwickshire Police on 101 or, in an emergency, 999.
Crime occurring in rural areas accounts for one third of all recorded crime in South Warwickshire. This is due to the large areas classified as rural in Stratford-on-Avon District, with nearly two thirds of the total recorded crime in this district alone occurring in rural areas.
Within South Warwickshire there are two Rural Crime Advisors (RCAs) in the Community Safety Team who carry out dedicated work with individuals, businesses and communities to reduce the impact of crime in rural areas. The posts are jointly funded by Stratford District Council and Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner who also created the Warwickshire Police Rural Crime Team (RCT).
The Rural Crime Advisors work alongside the RCT and local policing teams as well as with other partner agencies (Community Safety Partnership). The RCAs work with other members of the Community Safety Team supporting their projects e.g., CCTV, safety issues, antisocial behaviour concerns and matters affecting vulnerable people
South Warwickshire Rural Crime Advisors
Funded by Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe, the Rural Crime Advisors help address concerns raised by residents across South Warwickshire about crime in rural communities. The Rural Crime Advisors work closely with other partners, in particular with the Police and Watch Schemes, to ensure the best possible level of service is provided to victims of crime and communities. You can contact the Rural Crime Advisors if:
- you are a victim of crime, or are concerned you may be at risk and would benefit from crime prevention advice
- you would like to arrange a crime prevention talk to your community group or interest group
- you would be interested in arranging a village crime prevention ‘property marking' day, where property such as bicycles, lawn mowers, power tools etc. can be securely marked
If you wish to contact the Rural Crime Advisors, please do so using the following email below:
- Rebecca Jenkins: rebecca.jenkins@stratford-dc.gov.uk
- Alison Packer: alison.packer@stratford-dc.gov.uk
How Can the Rural Crime Advisors Help You?
If you have a farm or rural business and have been a victim of crime or are concerned that you may become a victim of crime, please get in touch. The RCAs can complete a crime prevention visit at your property and discuss any improvements that can be made to enhance your security.
If your community feels it could benefit from wider crime prevention The Rural Crime Advisors can run a Community Crime Prevention Toolbox Event in your village. The toolboxes contain crime prevention equipment such as: window alarms, shed alarms, can hides, personal alarms, property marking kits, switch timers, faraday pouches, TV simulators, crime prevention information leaflets, Warwickshire connected z cards / Safe in Warwickshire cards.
The principle of a ‘community crime prevention toolbox event' is for the RCAs to attend with the box, meet the community and following some informal discussions on crime prevention, leave the box with a custodian for the villagers to use as they think best.
We tend to run the events as a ‘drop in' style which usually work best if they piggy-back onto an existing event e.g.: village hall coffee morning or similar.
If you are interested in being a custodian of the box and have an event in mind, please get in touch
An example of the contents of the Toolbox can be seen above (please note that the contents can vary).
In addition to the above one of the RCAs' current projects aims to reduce the impact of vehicle crime on local trades people by running van crime prevention events in rural villages.
Where the Police are available these events are undertaken in partnership with the local policing team. We offer alarm crime prevention packs which includes a leaflet, alarm, van sticker, property marking pen, safe in Warwickshire cards and Warwickshire Police Connected z cards as well as providing specific advice on the doorstep. This advice also extends to caravan and motorhome owners.
An example of a van crime prevention pack can be seen above.
Crime Prevention Advice
There is a variety of crime prevention advice available for residents and businesses in Warwickshire:
If you would like to become a member of Neighbourhood Watch or are interested in setting up a scheme in your area, Neighbourhood Watch has lots of advice and tips for staying safe.
Useful Links
