The Country Land and Business Association (CLA), which scrutinised 38 rural police forces across England and Wales, found more than one-third (37%) lacked a dedicated rural crime strategy, nearly two-fifths (39%) did not have a rural crime team, and only 10 forces (28%) delivered rural crime training for new recruits.

More than one in four forces (27%) did not have a police officer of inspector rank or above leading rural crime, the research found.

And only about half (53%) of rural police forces across England and Wales have dedicated rural crime prevention tools, such as 4x4s, trail bikes, night vision equipment or drones.

CLA president Tim Breitmeyer said it is “astounding” that one-third of rural police forces do not have a dedicated strategy or team to deal with rural crime – especially when one considers the huge financial and emotional effect it has on those who live or work in the countryside.

He added: “Farming is a stressful business, where many are working on tight margins. Having to deal with replacing lost machinery, repairing a vandalised barn, or clearing up and bearing the cost of someone else’s fly-tipped mess, just adds unnecessary stress, eats away at meagre profits and takes up valuable time.

But cuts to youth services are just one factor that police, community workers and others cite for an often overlooked rise in knife crime outside London in counties such as Kent, which has experienced a rise of 152% since 2010, according to ONS figures.

They include the spillover of violence from so-called county lines – drug dealing that involves urban gangs moving drugs and cash between city hubs and provincial areas – as well as London councils’ relocation of homeless families to outside the capital, in some cases being followed by the dangers from which the parents have sought to shield their children.