Shining a light on rural policing

14 January 2025

In a 28-year career Sergeant Paul Roberts has spent most of his time in roads, neighbourhood and covert policing.

But two years ago he became rural crime sergeant and an integral part of the Force’s commitment to rural policing, illustrated by its status as leader of the Welsh rural crime performance group – headed up by Chief Constable Richard Lewis.

“I’ve been in this job for a long time now, gaining a lot of experience as a manager and supervisor, and for a while, I’d liked the idea of running a whole Force team,” he said. 

“Of course, this is something completely different to what I was used to, but the opportunity felt like the right one.

“I understood the role was basically to be the public face of the Force when it came to rural policing – although still not the overall boss – and that really attracted me. I felt I was ready to represent and take on the big responsibility.”

Paul, now 49, set about implementing the Force’s rural and wildlife crime strategy, released in its latest version last year, across the 4,188 miles and some 12,000 farms under its jurisdiction.

With an area so vast and with operational limitations, he quickly learnt the value of maximising every resource possible.

“The single biggest way we can get as much as possible out of ourselves is by having a dedicated team where every single one of our officers understands rural policing. We have many challenges – a lack of CCTV, phone signal and, crucially, witnesses,” he said.

“There is the possibility of a language barrier too but, thankfully, most of the team speak Welsh as a first or second language.

Bespoke service

“This is not something you would really have to worry about in urban policing, but we are talking about some very hard-to-reach groups often disconnected from the rest of society. We owe them a complete, bespoke service as police.”

Despite coming to terms with some aspects of the job quickly, Paul revealed there was much more that took months for him to ‘get his head around’.

Wildlife crime, for instance, met his expectations in parts – with fox hunting, badger culling and deer stalking all anticipated activity – but the role dealt him issues he had never previously considered in terms of law enforcement, such as nest destruction, egg theft and fish poisoning.

There is a coastal element to his work. The team run Operation Seabird, followed as the standard police protocol on coastal wildlife disturbance by the rest of Wales, and tackle crime on water by going out on boats alongside the Force’s marine unit.

“The link between urban crime and rural crime is something you just wouldn’t appreciate until you’re in this world,” Paul added.

“We encounter organised crime like wildlife trafficking, as an alternative to drug or weapon trafficking, and countryside cannabis factories, which raise the question of modern-day slavery and exploitation.”

Victims of crime

For Paul, though, the most important people the team will engage with are the victims of crime.

He pointed towards farmers losing out to agricultural crime, the repercussions of which can then be exacerbated by their social isolation.

“There are so many different crimes linked to farming. People steal vehicles, fuel, machinery, and livestock. Dyfed Powys has the second-highest figures of livestock theft in the UK. This leads to both emotional and economic impacts for farmers,” Paul explained.

 “And it can really knock their confidence – I have seen farmers in tears before. They can be vulnerable people, where farming is all they know and they don’t have anything else to turn to.

“It’s so important that we listen to what victims want and advise them on how to protect themselves.”

He concluded: “A couple of years in, I can definitely feel the passion here for rural policing and I am proud to be a part of it,” Paul said.

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