Nusrat Ghani, MP for Wealden, is supporting residents and local authorities in tackling rural crime and has recently convened a meeting with representatives from Sussex and Kent Police forces to discuss incidents of rural crime in north Wealden.
Nusrat is in regular contact with the Wealden District Commander to discuss individual cases of constituents, farmers, and local businesses who have reached out to her regarding local crime and its impact. However, as the winter months are usually of most concern, Nusrat convened this meeting with the two Police forces as well as with representatives from Withyham and Blackham Watch to form to closer cross-border response to the challenges posed by rural crime in Wealden, hear further detail on where there are vulnerabilities and get an update on the disruptive measures the Police are taking.
Last year, two weeks of high-profile policing were dedicated to combatting rural crime in Wealden, in addition to nearly 500 hours of existing police patrol activity in the area. This has led to multiple arrests and there are ongoing multi-agency efforts as well as increased patrol activity.
Nusrat Ghani said: “We are extremely lucky that Wealden is a safe place to live with consistently low levels of crime. However, I’m aware that incidents of rural crime such as burglaries, do occur and remain an area of concern, especially for residents in the north of the constituency near the Kent border. I’m incredibly grateful to Sussex Police for their hard work and commitment to ensuring that they have visible presence locally and I was pleased to hear that there are ongoing multi-agency efforts involving Sussex Police, Kent Police and Surrey Police to track criminals moving across counties. I can assure Wealden residents that any criminal activity will be met with the full force of the law and I urge them to report any concerns to the police.”
Please report any concerns to the police by calling 101 or visit the Sussex Police website here. If you are in danger, always call 999.
