NRCN's Annual Conference 2025

Strategic Director at VISAV Limited, a digital solutions provider and developer of the Neighbourhood Alert.

As a secure community messaging platform, the Neighbourhood Alert facilitates effective communication between police forces, local authorities and registered community members.

With her significant experience in building relationships between communities and policing, Kate will be highlighting how smarter reporting and collaboration can drive real change. She will also discuss the exclusive Neighbourhood Alert Rural Crime Survey analysis 2024.

CEO at Countryside Alliance

Tim Bonner is the Chief Executive at the Countryside Alliance which is a political campaigning force working to promote and protect the countryside and the rural way of life. Tim has worked for the Countryside Alliance since 2002, and previously farmed in north Devon. He has held a variety of roles at the Countryside Alliance, from press officer to campaigns director and was appointed Chief Executive in 2015. Outside of work, Tim enjoys walking, wildfowling, fishing and playing cricket.

CEO of Rural Action Derbyshire

Emma has been at the forefront of efforts to tackle domestic abuse in rural areas.

Through her leadership at the Rural Action Derbyshire, Emma oversees The Willow Project – an initiative dedicated towards raising awareness about rural domestic abuse. The initiative provides vital training to help communities recognise the signs of abuse and equip individuals with the confidence to support those in need.

With expertise in tackling domestic abuse in rural areas, Emma will be sharing valuable insights into the challenges survivors face and the urgent need to enhance support networks.

Head of Heritage Crime Legal and Governance at Historic England

With extensive experience in research, criminal justice, and policing, Mark has dedicated his career to building partnerships that reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in both natural and historic environments. His expertise will bring valuable insights into our conference.

Mark will draw on his expertise to share strategies on safeguarding our rural landscapes, communities, and historic sites with a particular focus on how crime prevention projects run by Historic England are helping to reduce re-offending rates amongst younger people and equip them with skill and opportunities to succeed.

Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Serving as the Member of Parliament for Cambridge since 2015, Mr. Zeichner has been actively involved in environmental and rural affairs.

In his role as Minister of State, appointed in July 2024, Mr. Zeichner has been instrumental in shaping policies to safeguard our rural communities. His efforts include advocating enhanced security measures for agricultural assets and promoting community-based initiatives to deter criminal activities in rural areas.

Mr. Zeichner will speak to the audience about his experiences with rural crime, gathered during his visits to farms, law enforcements, and other key stakeholders across the country. He will also highlight DEFRA‘s initiatives helping to make our rural communities and businesses safer.

Minister of State at the Home Office

Lord Hanson brings a wealth of experience to the table, having served as the Member of parliament for Delyn from 1992-2019 and held several significant ministerial positions during his tenure, including Minister of State for security, counter-terrorism, crime and policing (2009-2010), Minister of State for Justice (2007-2009) and Minister of State for Northern Ireland (2005–2007)With his extensive background in security and crime prevention, Lord Hanson will share invaluable insights on issues such as Equipment and machinery theft and the funding for rural policing.

Head of the National Rural Crime Unit (NRCU)

NRCU is a specialist police unit dedicated to improving co-ordination and intelligence sharing, with the aim of tackling organised criminal gangs targeting our rural communities. Formulated in 2023 and spearheaded by Andy, the NRCU team is already making a huge difference in safeguarding the rural communities—from recovering more than £10.4M worth of stolen equipment to successfully supporting the introduction of the Equipment Theft Prevention Act 2023 in the Parliament.

At the conference, Andy will be addressing the latest developments in agricultural equipment theft and rural crime prevention strategies, and much more.

David Sidwick was elected Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset in May 2021.

During his career within the pharmaceutical industry, David undertook many rewarding management and marketing roles, one of which was joining the UK Management Board for Parke-Davis as CNS Therapy Director (Marketing Director). Here, he was responsible for substantial budgets and members of staff and giving him a thorough grounding in strategy, communication and resource allocation.

Subsequently, David decided to set up his own business. For nearly two decades, STAC Consultancy facilitated the education of more than 17,500 secondary care consultants in areas such as chronic pain, epilepsy, dementia and multiple sclerosis.

Thus, David’s professional career has given him experience of both large multi-national organisations as well as the needs of a small, lean business.

He has also been the secretary of a foundation which awarded more than a quarter of a million pounds of grant funding to medical professionals. He was also a Non-Executive Director for a healthcare company and was instrumental in trebling their turnover.

For the past decade, he has been a governor at Bournemouth School and as Vice Chair/Chair, he led on ensuring the most local community focused and progressive admission policy in the UK which allowed the acquisition of the largest capital investment since the 1970s.