WITH 72% of the county classed as rural, Essex Police officers are dedicated to protecting farms, rural residents & businesses and ensuring offenders face justice – helping to make 2025 a safer year for our countryside.
Supported by a specialist Rural Engagement Team, all the force’s officers – from neighbourhood and roads policing teams to detectives and other specialists – continue to work hard to keep these rural communities safe.
In the past year, the number of crimes in rural Essex has dropped by 5%, or 992 offences. Residential and business burglaries have reduced significantly, as have thefts of and from vehicles.
There were 131 fewer thefts from shops, 133 fewer public order offences and 101 fewer offences of criminal damage. Violent crime has also dropped in rural areas.
Continued engagement with communities and work with partner agencies has played a key part in this reduction.
Rural engagement officers carried out 167 visits to schools, parish councillors, village events and agricultural shows last year and neighbourhood policing teams across the force conducted hundreds more.
Inspector Terry Jacobs, of the Rural Engagement Team, explains: “More regular engagement means our rural communities are now sharing more useful information with us.
“And it’s this ‘community intelligence’ which helps our officers to identify suspects, make arrests and prosecute them.
“It also enables us to pinpoint hotspots for crime and anti-social behaviour, recognise emerging crime trends and then target operational activity.
“Often, we work with partner agencies both locally and countywide to do this and to make things better for our communities.
“So, if you have information about a crime, suspicious activity or anti-social behaviour, please report it to us. You can do this online or by ringing 101. If you prefer to remain anonymous, then you can go via the independent charity Crimestoppers.
“You may not see immediate results but we look at all the information we receive and much of it goes to building a picture of criminal behaviour. Your submission may be the missing piece of the jigsaw we need to allow us to take action.”
The Rural Engagement Team covers the whole of Essex. Officers focus on rural road safety and crimes specific to rural areas, such as hare coursing, the theft of agricultural vehicles and machinery, organised fly-tipping, providing specialist advice to other teams when required.
They also manage unauthorised encampments and investigate wildlife and heritage crime, which covers offences such as poaching, livestock worrying, damage to protected habitats and illegal metal detecting.
Last year, the team carried out 268 speed checks and stopped 812 vehicles travelling on rural roads, reporting motorists for 838 offences, ranging from speeding to using a mobile phone while driving and not wearing a seatbelt.
And they seized 78 vehicles – the majority for being driven while uninsured but eight were seized because they were suspected to have been involved in hare coursing. A further 46 were recovered after being stolen or involved in a crime.
Hare coursing is a big focus because of the cruelty involved, the high cost to farmers of crop damage and the fear it causes in isolated communities affected.
RET officers work with rural teams in surrounding counties and the National Police Air Service (NPAS) to disrupt hare coursers.
In 2025, thanks to this partnership work, they issued 25 community protection notices to suspected hare coursers with conditions about possession, controlling or being in the company of dogs. Ignoring such orders can lead to fines or criminal prosecution. The team also seized eight vehicles suspected of involvement in hare coursing.
Terry says: “People are more confident to report hare coursing to police because they know we are tackling this vicious crime but we also need witness statements to support prosecutions.
While the number of unauthorised encampments rose slightly – from 66 in 2024 to 78 in 2025 – only 13 (or one-sixth of the total) were required to vacate the land. It’s still almost 60% fewer than 2018/2019.
Terry says: “Since the Rural Engagement Team was formed to focus on our rural communities in 2017, we have worked with visiting families to foster mutual respect and positive relationships. We explain the law so that everyone knows where they stand.”
The team’s specialist crime prevention advice is also vital to reducing crime.
Rural engagement officers visit farms to mark tractors, tools and other specialised vehicles and equipment with unique DNA property marking kits.
And during 2025, they began to deploy trail cameras to hotspot areas to identify suspects, deter crime and provide community reassurance.
Visit the Essex Police Rural Crime webpages to find out more about rural crime, crime prevention and the Rural Engagement Team’s work: www.essex.police.uk/ruralcrime
