About the Rural Crime Partnership

The Rural Crime Partnership brings together Thames Valley Police, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse and West Oxfordshire District Councils and their corresponding Community Safety Partnerships. It is funded through the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) for Thames Valley and the Home Office's Safer Streets initiative.

The partnership's programme of work currently focuses on tackling rural acquisitive crime, which can seriously impact on the livelihoods of people working and living in rural communities.

Tackling rural acquisitive crime is about preventing the theft of farm machinery, vehicles and tools.

Current Programme of Work

• Advisers from Thames Valley Police are working with farmers and landowners to improve farm security. Providing DNA tagging kits for farm machinery and vehicles, and working with community members to develop crime prevention networks.
• Fly tipping specialists within councils have been given new signage and equipment to help in the fight against fly tipping - identified by residents as a key issue in rural areas.
• Partnership members are working with individuals and community stakeholder groups within rural communities to understand their experiences of rural crime and their priorities for dealing with it.

Get Involved

Current initiatives for the Rural Crime Partnership focus on preventing the theft of farm machinery, tools and livestock and tackling fly tipping, but we know rural crime is a much wider issue.

All those involved in the Rural Crime Partnership want to tackle rural crime as a whole and by sharing your views you will help us identify future areas of work.

If you live and/or work in West Oxfordshire, South Oxfordshire or the Vale of White Horse tell us about your experience of rural crime and your views on how rural crime should be tackled in the future - helping to shape future rural crime initiatives.

Practical Support

If you are landowner, farmer or tenant farmer living in a rural location you can request a visit from Thames Valley Police to look at crime prevention. During the visit you:

• Will get personalised advice on security and where appropriate DNA tagging kits to protect vehicles and machinery.
• Can find out more about the work of Thames Valley Police's Rural Crime Taskforce, the role local Community Support Officers play in keeping rural communities safe and how members of the rural community can contribute to making their environment safer.