Rural communities will be better protected from the scourge of crimes such as equipment theft, livestock theft and property damage which can devastate countryside communities, farming and wildlife, through a funding boost to dedicated police units.
The National Rural Crime Unit and National Wildlife Crime Unit will receive over £800,000 to continue their work tackling rural and wildlife crime, which can pose unique challenges for policing given the scale and isolation of rural areas.
Funding to the National Rural Crime Unit will enable the unit to continue to increase collaboration across police forces, harnessing the latest technology and data to target the serious organised crime groups involved in crimes like equipment theft from farms.
The funding comes as the government works with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to deliver the new Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy, to ensure the entire weight of government is put behind tackling rural crime.
Minister for Crime and Policing Dame Diana Johnson said:
When you report a crime, it should be properly investigated, with victims having faith that justice will be delivered and criminals punished.
But too often victims of crime in rural communities have been left feeling undervalued and isolated, whether it be famers having equipment or livestock stolen, or villages targeted by car thieves and county lines gangs.
This new funding, alongside the forthcoming Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy and our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, will help deliver the change rural communities deserve, ensuring no matter where you live your streets are safe and police responsive to your local needs as we continue to deliver on our Plan for Change.
The government is determined to ensure its Safer Streets Mission applies to all communities no matter where they live with rural communities set to benefit from more visible local policing through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
This will deliver 13,000 more neighbourhood police officers and police community support officers by the end of the Parliament as part of the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change.
The new funding follows the government’s flagship Crime and Policing Bill, which gives police and local authorities new powers to tackle crime, including crimes that do real damage to rural communities.
This includes new statutory guidance for local authorities to support them to make full and proper use of their fly-tipping enforcement powers.
New warrantless powers of entry for police to enter premises identified by electronic mapping will give officers a valuable tool to tackle equipment and machinery stolen from farms and agricultural businesses.
The government is committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 which will make it harder for criminals to sell stolen agricultural equipment. Secondary legislation is due to be introduced later this year.
A lot of this is as result from from lobbying and research undertaken by the Countryside Landowners association (CLA)
Find out more about Rural Crime Campaigns from the CLA