Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, what steps she is taking to help ensure the effective prosecution of rural crime.

This Government is committed to working with the police and other partners to address the blight of rural crime to ensure the safety of those in all communities.

We are introducing tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthening neighbourhood policing, and introducing robust laws to prevent farm theft and fly-tippers.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy 2022-2025 provides a framework through which policing, and its partners, can work together to tackle the most prevalent threats and emerging issues which predominantly affect rural communities.

Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors work closely with local police officers and officers from the National Wildlife Crime Unit to tackle all types of rural crime.

The CPS provides legal guidance on Wildlife, Rural and Heritage Crime, which is available to all its prosecutors, to assist them in dealing with these cases. They also provide specialist training to ensure that its prosecutors have the expert knowledge needed to prosecute these crimes.