CLA welcomes funding boost to fight rural crime
Home Office pledges £800,000 for tackling rural and wildlife crime, with national strategy due soon
The CLA has welcomed new funding from the Home Office to help in the fight against rural crime.
The National Rural Crime Unit and National Wildlife Crime Unit will receive over £800,000 to continue their work tackling rural and wildlife crime, the government has announced.
The Home Office said the funding will be used in the battle against equipment theft, livestock theft and hare coursing "which can devastate rural communities, farming and wildlife".
Country Land and Business Association (CLA) President Victoria Vyvyan said:
“Rural crime blights the countryside, so we welcome the news of more funding as well as the upcoming launch of the new national strategy.
“Farmers and communities – many already struggling with isolation – have had enough of criminals and violent organised gangs targeting them. They deserve to feel safe and protected.
“As recent CLA analysis found, some police forces lack dedicated rural officers and basic kit. This new funding is a step in the right direction in the fight against rural crime, and must be used to equip more officers as well as improve training for call handlers.”
Lack of dedicated officers
Last year the CLA approached 36 police forces operating in rural areas across England and Wales, lodging Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
In total, 20 forces responded to reveal:
- Five forces have no rural crime team, and eight forces have less than ten dedicated rural officers
- Lack of equipment including at least three forces without torches, six without mobile ANPR cameras, three without rural drone kits, and three with just one drone kit
- No universal tag to track common rural crimes on police databases
- Large disparity in rural crime team funding, with some receiving £900,000 and others just £1,250.
In this week's announcement, the Home Office said funding to the National Rural Crime Unit will enable it 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 National Wildlife Crime Unit will strengthen its ability to disrupt criminal networks exploiting endangered species both in the UK and internationally, with enhanced data analysis and financial investigation helping the unit track illegal wildlife profits and ensure offenders face justice.
It also said a rural crime strategy is due in April.