I want to be clear here; I’m not just talking about countryside crime, because rural areas have just the same crimes as urban areas plus country crime as well.
There is a strong feeling that rural communities are poor relatives where police numbers in their communities are concerned. It does not help when the present PCC closes a custody suite servicing a rural community and large town and moves it 26 miles away adding over an hour travelling time for officers.
Through my police budget and after discussion with the Chief I will again make funds available to tackle this issue.