Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce rural crime in (a) East Yorkshire and (b) England.

Our manifesto committed us to use police resources to tackle rural crime. As well as recruiting 20,000 additional police officers, we are also taking steps to address issues that we know affect rural communities. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act empowers and equips the police and courts with the powers they need to combat hare coursing. The Government is also providing funding for the National Wildlife Crime Unit.

As at 30 September 2022, Humberside Police has recruited 263 additional uplift officers against a total three year allocation of 322 officers. As of the same date, 15,343 additional uplift officers have been recruited in England and Wales through the Police Uplift Programme, 77% of the target of 20,000 additional officers by March 2023. The deployment of these officers is an operational decision for Chief Constables.