Dr Neil Hudson, MP for England’s largest and most rural constituency, has again shone a light on the scourge of rural crime by securing Government commitments to crack down on farm theft, fly tipping, hare coursing and a host of associated countryside criminality.
Tabling Written Parliamentary Questions to senior Government Ministers, Dr Hudson received a vital update on the establishment of the National Rural Crime Unit, amid National Rural Crime Action Week – an event between 18th-24th September highlighting the work that our Police and Crime Commissioners and their forces undertake to tackle rural crime.
Policing Minister Chris Philip, briefed Dr Hudson on the Home Office’s £200,000 funding to establish the new National Rural Crime Unit which supports UK forces to keep the countryside safe. This is backed up by legislation Dr Hudson helped get through the Houses of Parliament. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act for instance empowers police and courts to clamp down on criminals while also creating two new criminal offences directly targeting hare coursers. And, the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 which deters the thefts of quadbikes and ATVs by requiring immobilisers and forensic markings to be fitted.
Having lobbied Government officials to clamp down on fly tipping, Environment Minister Rebecca Pow, reinforced to Dr Hudson that on-the-spot fines were raised to £1,000 in July, building on the £1.2 worth of grant funding to help more than 30 councils implement projects cracking down on fly-tipping.
With some of England’s most remote communities behind him, Dr Neil Hudson has made tackling rural crime a cornerstone of his work in Westminster.
- Click here to watch Dr Hudson quiz the Justice Minister on supporting the Police and rural communities against criminals.
- Read more about Dr Hudson’s recent meeting with Cumbria Police Federation to discuss the state of policing in the county, here.
- Watch Dr Hudson highlight the severe negative mental health effects of rural crime in Westminster, here.
Dr Neil Hudson MP said:
“With increasing concern about rural crime, I am proud to support our Government as we clamp down on those who would do us and our way of life harm.
“Locally our Conservative Government has already boosted funding and recruitment for the force, so I was pleased to hear from senior Ministers how this is backed up with tough national policy measures.
“Having helped bring them into law, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act and the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act are empowering officers and magistrates to act decisively when crimes have been committed, keeping us safer and our possessions more secure.”
