Extract from Business
Questions
Dr (Bosworth) (Con): On behalf of
Hinckley and Bosworth, I congratulate the returning Conservative
police and crime commissioner for
Leicestershire, . His re-election was in no
small part thanks to his introduction of a rural crime team,
which has recovered £1.3 million worth of stolen goods since its
introduction and reduced rural crime by 24%, according to the
latest newsletter. Will my right hon. Friend thank the returning
PCC, the Leicestershire police force and, most
importantly, the offices of the rural crime team for all they do
to reduce crime in the likes of Market Bosworth and the
surrounding villages?
: I happily join my hon.
Friend in congratulating on his return to office,
and I thank him for the leadership he has shown in reducing crime
in his local area, as well as the police force on the frontline.
In certain parts of the country the police often get a hard time
from us in this place, but they do tremendous work. On the same
resource since 2010, crime has been halved in this country,
leaving aside online fraud and particular hotspots in the west
midlands and London. That is a tremendous achievement, and it is
thanks to the accountability and direct democracy of Police and Crime
Commissioners but also, most of all, the hard work,
efforts and effectiveness of our police officers.
Oral answer (Lords) on
Rural Crime
Asked by
The
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they are making in
tackling rural crime.
The (Con)
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on
the Order Paper. In doing so, I declare my interests as a retired
farmer and a member of the National Farmers' Union.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office () (Con)
My Lords, since 2010, overall incidents of crime have come down
by 55% on a like-for-like basis. The Government are committed to
tackling rural crime. Decisions on deployment of police resources
are a matter for chief constables and locally
elected Police and Crime
Commissioners However, the Government set up the National
Rural Crime Unit to help police secure specialist operational
support, develop bespoke approaches and share best practice.
The (Con)
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for that reply. Rural
theft cost the UK £49.5 million in 2022 and that overall trend is
increasing exponentially today. Fly-tipping continues to be the
most prolific form of rural crime. Is my noble friend satisfied
that the punishments meted out to those who commit rural crime—if
indeed they are caught—provide an effective deterrent? Does he
agree with me that the results of the recent election
of Police and Crime
Commissioners provide an opportunity for those elected to
prove their support for rural issues, especially in the fight
against rural crime?
(Con)
My noble friend made a couple of very good points. First, the
Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 was given Royal Assent in
July last year. Secondary legislation is needed before it comes
into force and work has begun on the necessary regulations, with
a view to hearing debates in Parliament in this Session. As noble
Lords will be aware, there has been some progress on equipment
theft; in fact, there was a story this morning in the Daily
Telegraph and commendations go to Kent and Thames Valley Police
for having arrested seven people relating to a hoard of over
1,000 suspected stolen items. It is not really my place to
comment on sentencing, but I do think that significant progress
is being made.
(PC)
My Lords, will either the Minister or those in his department
have a specific meeting with the newly re-elected police
commissioner for Dyfed Powys, , who represents one of the
most rural areas in the whole of England and Wales? There have
been specific crimes in that area that need investigation and
possibly increased powers to deal with them. Will he give such a
commitment?
(Con)
I would of course be very happy to meet the said gentleman. Let
me go into the details of the National Rural Crime Unit a little.
It was established in January 2023, with a grant of £300,000. It
is working and was set up with a significant input from the
National Farmers' Union, as noble Lords will be aware. The unit
has made a real difference; Farmers Weekly reported on 25
April:
“They have absolutely changed the playing field in terms of
policing”.
So the first port of call should be to superintendent Andrew
Huddleston in that unit, which is doing great work.
The Lord Speaker ( of Alcluith)
My Lords, the noble Lord, , is participating
remotely.
(Lab) [V]
My Lords, I congratulate the hugely experienced on his election as crime
commissioner for Cumbria. With 47 million visitors to the Lakes
annually and an associated increase in rural crime, will
Ministers respond to his early call for resources to fund a major
expansion in the automatic number plate recognition programme? We
need it to cover our arterial road system, in particular the A66
and A69. As a matter of note, Vauxhall in London has more of
these cameras than the entire county of Cumbria.
(Con)
On resources, there are now over 149,000 police officers in
England and Wales, which is a higher number than any time before.
The Government have also confirmed a total police funding
settlement of up to £18.4 billion next year, which is an increase
of £842 million. On how the money is spent locally, the noble
Lord will be aware that those are very much local decisions, but
I hear what he says and he made some interesting points.
(CB)
My Lords, I am a member of the APPG on metal theft and we have
identified and reported on the enormous and growing scale of
metal theft in rural areas, which of course has a massive impact
on rural communities. Church roofs are stolen; a kilometre or
more of copper cable is extracted from the local comms system,
taking out telephone networks; and so on. Such crime is
overwhelmingly committed, we heard in evidence, by organised
criminal gangs. They are rarely caught and rarely held to
account. Does the Minister think the police have the right
strategies and tactics for handling organised crime in rural
areas?
(Con)
Again, the noble Lord makes some very good points. As he will be
aware, operational decisions are taken locally, so that is a
matter for chief constables in conversation and association with
their Police and Crime
Commissioners But plenty of national resources are
available, as I have already highlighted.
(Lab)
My Lords, notwithstanding the figures that the Minister just gave
us, the National Farmers' Union Mutual says that 80% of its
members have reported disruption from crime in their areas. One
specific ask from the National Farmers' Union Mutual is for
improved protection to be given by extending the Equipment Theft
(Prevention) Act to include GPS theft from farmed vehicles. Will
the Government consider doing that as a matter of urgency?
(Con)
That is a very good point. We still have to commence the
Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act, as he knows, and a call for
evidence went out last summer seeking views on the secondary
legislation, as required. That would be the appropriate place for
making these points and discussing this. It has been targeted at
agricultural and construction sectors—manufacturers, dealers,
retailers and so on. I wait to see what the results of that call
for evidence deliver, but I think the noble Lord makes a very
good point—and, going back to the story about Kent that I
referenced earlier, it was because of a GPS tracker that these
people were caught.
The Lord
My Lords, it is recognised that one niche area of rural crime by
organised crime groups is laundering money through events such as
illegal hare coursing, which is causing a huge problem. We were
very grateful for the recent support of the Government in trying
to bring an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts
Act, but is the Minister sure that the new Police and
Crime Commissioners not only understand the problem but have
the right training in place so the law can be implemented?
(Con)
First, I commend the right reverend Prelate on his work in
introducing the amendment to that particular Bill. It came into
force on 1 August 2022 and, without his efforts, I do not think
it would have happened. Hare coursing is not a notifiable
offence, but the statistics I have are very encouraging. There
has been a 60% reduction in the poaching of both hare and deer
over the course of the 2022-23 season. The National Rural Crime
Unit informs us that there has been an increased use of criminal
protection notices when used alongside the new measures,
including those involved with hare coursing. I was very pleased
to hear about the successful prosecution of two individuals in
Lincolnshire last week for hare coursing. So, it would seem to
bear out that enough work is being done, but of course I will
follow up and, if there is more to say, I will come back to the
right reverend Prelate.
of Hardington Mandeville
(LD)
My Lords, we hear more in the media about crimes in urban areas
and cities due to the numbers. However, many rural crimes are
serious. Cuts in bus services and the decimation of youth
services have left young people adrift. Young people are
vulnerable to predation by criminal drug gangs running county
lines. Prevention is always better than cure. Why have the
Government abandoned vulnerable young people in rural areas?
(Con)
Well, that was more of a statement than a question and I do not
think the Government have abandoned rural young people.
(Con)
My Lords, , our very good North
Yorkshire police and crime commissioner, brought out a report
five years ago about the wide gap in support between rural and
urban victims of domestic abuse. That report, Captive &
Controlled, stated:
“Abuse lasts, on average, 25% longer in the most rural
areas”.
Can my noble friend assure me that this gap has narrowed, and how
has this been achieved?
(Con)
My noble friend asks a good question, but the findings of the
Captive & Controlled report are not easily replicated, so it
is difficult to give him the assurance he seeks that the gap is
narrowing. But teams in the Home Office and Defra have sought to
understand the additional challenges that victims in rural
communities face, and we have invested to help address those.
That includes funding for an older persons' rural domestic abuse
practitioner in Northumberland and support for children, young
people and families in rural communities in Shropshire and Devon.
I would also say that the duty to collaborate we are introducing
through the Victims and Prisoners Bill will further help police
forces understand and commission to meet the needs of the victims
in their communities.
(CB)
My Lords, would the Government agree with me that there is a
direct relationship between crime and poverty? What are we doing,
really, about all the things that are happening in the
countryside that are stripping people of jobs? It is very, very
difficult to get a job in the countryside that pays enough for
you to live on the wage. It is a low-wage economy.
(Con)
That may be the case, but there are also lots of good
opportunities in the country and, of course, we live in a world
where the gig economy gives people opportunities to live pretty
much wherever they want.
