Crime in Rural Areas (Hansard, 5 July 1989)

§ The Earl of Arran
My Lords, crime levels are falling in non-Metropolitan Police force areas, but outbreaks of particular types of crime occur in various places from time to time. To counter this we have increased police manpower for non-metropolitan forces. We are introducing a new training programme for their officers and we are encouraging the development of Farm Watch and other crime prevention schemes.

§ Baroness Masham of Ilion
My Lords, I thank the noble Earl for that courteous and helpful Answer. Is he aware that the depressing aspect of the matter is that the stolen goods are hardly ever recovered and that the criminals come out from the towns and target the rural areas? They are mobile and motivated and get away with their crimes.

§ The Earl of Arran
My Lords, unfortunately and sadly that is the case in some circumstances. The police are obviously aware of the position and do everything in their power to see that the goods are returned to their rightful owners.

§ Baroness Sharples
My Lords, does my noble friend agree that insurance companies can be extremely helpful by advising owners of property which is at risk from vandals and so forth as to what type of equipment they should put on their doors, because we are all losing swords and so on?

§ The Earl of Arran
My Lords, my noble friend is right. Insurance companies reflect their clients' awareness in their premiums. It is the job and responsibility of good, sensible insurance companies to ensure that clients are always advised how best to protect their property.

§ Baroness Ewart-Biggs
My Lords, in view of the fact that some of the crime is committed by young people under the influence of drink, will the Minister say whether there has been any success as a result of the recent Licensing Act which strengthened the law governing the sale of alcohol to under-age drinkers, and whether there have been any prosecutions of licensees and publicans? What training is given to teachers and social workers to help prevent young people falling into the habit of drinking or to help them out of it?

§ The Earl of Arran
My Lords, with regard to the recent report on rural violence, we have strengthened the law relating to the sales of alcohol to under-age drinkers and have increased the penalties available to the courts. Advice has been issued to the police and courts about the powers available to deal with outbreaks of disorder. We have encouraged the drinks industry to increase the production and promotion of low and no alcohol drinks.

§ Baroness Strange
My Lords, is my noble friend aware that those of us who live in isolated rural areas are grateful to the police for their support and protection, and that if one is alone in a house, of course with dogs, it is nice to see a police car driving around?

§ The Earl of Arran
My Lords, I am sure that your Lordships will all agree with what my noble friend has said.

Lord Winstanley
My Lords, has the Minister noted that many of the supplementary questions addressed to him on this subject have been to do with the theft of property in rural areas? Does he accept that in many cases it is the theft of stock that concerns people? Highly organised gangs steal sheep and other stock from the Fells, butcher them on site and take them away. The Minister has referred to the efforts made to restore property to its rightful owners. One cannot apply that remedy to thefts of the type that I have described.

§ The Earl of Arran
My Lords, we are aware of the point that the noble Lord makes. With regard to the theft of animals and stock, in their Farm Watch scheme the police encourage people to have markings on their property or animals.

§ Lord John-Mackie
My Lords, is the Minister aware that the advice I received from the police after I had a burglary at my farm in Essex was that it was a good idea to have sufficient light, and a good barking dog, on farm buildings and farm houses? Electricity is expensive, and I hope that the Government will take note of that advice when we deal later on with the first amendment to the Electricity Bill.

§ The Earl of Arran
My Lords, I am sure that the police gave extremely good advice. Farm Watch schemes now operate in 18 counties.

§ The Earl of Swinton
My Lords, is my noble friend aware that one of the reasons why it is becoming difficult to recover property is the plethora of car boot sales and other associated events? They are obviously a good way for petty criminals to get rid of goods which are not worth much, and they are difficult to stop. I am not suggesting for a moment that any action should be taken to stop that excellent form of raising money for charity, but can my noble friend give any advice to the people who organise such events to keep a special watch for that type of activity?

§ The Earl of Arran
My Lords, the sensible advice is to keep a good watch for that type of activity. My noble friend will no doubt be aware from when he visits car boot sales that the items in the backs of cars tend to be of low value.

§ Baroness Robson of Kiddington
My Lords, I welcome the noble Earl's reply about the reduction of crime in rural areas. Will he tell us by how much crimes of actual bodily harm and vandalism have decreased? In my experience as a justice of the peace, 1166 those crimes have increased enormously in rural areas in the past few years.

§ The Earl of Arran
My Lords, I cannot answer that question without notice. I can tell the noble Baroness about the general decrease in crime during the past 10 months. For example, until the end of April this year, recorded crime fell by nearly 5 per cent. in non-Metropolitan Police rural areas and by 9 per cent. in North Yorkshire.

§ Baroness Masham of Ilion
My Lords, does the Minister agree that, as the roads in the North of England have come to a standstill due to traffic hold-ups, it might be a good idea if police forces had helicopters to help catch criminals?

§ The Earl of Arran
My Lords, such action is at the discretion of and is the responsibility of the chief officer of the county; but helicopters are extremely expensive to run.

§ Baroness Ewart-Biggs
My Lords, I am sorry to press the Minister but can he answer the question that I put to him? It was whether there had been any prosecutions of publicans for selling drinks to under-age drinkers following the introduction of the Licensing Act. Also, what training is available to teachers and social workers to help young people avoid becoming involved?

§ The Earl of Arran
My Lords, what teachers can do to help is slightly wide of the Question on the Order Paper. I shall send to the noble Baroness the imformation she seeks. As regards the first part of the question, I believe that the sensible course would be to spell out the answer in writing.

§ Lord Glenamara
My Lords, does the noble Earl agree that the new phenomenon of the lager lout in small country towns and the trouble they cause is not attributable to young people from the towns, as the noble Baroness, Lady Masham, said? The problem is caused by the young people from the rural areas themselves: that is quite new.

§ The Earl of Arran
My Lords, unfortunately that is quite accurate.