Northumbria Police and partners joined forces last week in a show of support against rural crime.

To mark the national Rural Crime Week of Action, between October 6 and 13, officers, staff and volunteers were joined by Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness to demonstrate their collective commitment to tackling rural issues impacting communities.

Superintendent Helen Anderson, of Northumbria Police’s Northern Area Command, said: “As part of the Rural Crime Week of Action we were able to once again demonstrate that tackling rural crime continues to be high on our agenda here in Northumbria

“It is important that we not only continue to protect people from rural crime but also increase confidence in those communities who feel vulnerable to such offences that action is being taken.

“It is also important to stress that while we take action with other forces during these weeks of action, our work does not start and stop there. We have carried out numerous initiatives and positive police action to tackle rural criminality and will continue to do long after this week is over.

“People living and working in these communities are our eyes and ears and we rely on their information to help us build up a picture of what is going on.”

Miss McGuinness said: “I’m very aware of the need to understand the issues of those living and working across the vast rural areas we have in Northumbria.

“Tackling rural crime is very much a joint effort and it’s important we continue to strengthen our relationships with partner to ensure we are tackling rural crime head-on.”