It’s three years since the last National Rural Crime Survey revealed the huge cost of crime to rural communities in financial terms to the tune of £800 million per year and in terms of fear, with chronic under-reporting, anger and frustration at the police and government.

The National Rural Crime Network is once more asking for feedback about whether crime has gone up or down in rural communities, how safe residents feel and what their view on the police in their community is.

The network wants to know the true picture of crime and anti-social behaviour in rural communities across England and Wales and the impact it has where people live or work.

Questions cover a range of issues, from whether victims report crimes suffered, to the impact crime and anti-social behaviour has and whether people believe enough is being done to catch those who carry out the offences. It’s about making sure the voice of rural communities is heard by those who can make a difference, from the police to the government.

The survey is available at nationalruralcrimenetwork.net and is open for submissions until Sunday June 10.

One of this year’s focuses of the survey is whether rural crime continue to be underreported. Three years ago, one in four said they didn’t report the last crime they’d been a victim of because they didn’t see the point.

The results will feed into the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Rural Affairs National Strategy for 2018-2021 which is due to be launched later this year.