Kemi Badenoch has pledged to create 1,000 dedicated rural police officers as part of a Conservative plan to tackle an epidemic of countryside crime. The Tory leader unveiled the blueprint exclusively to the Sunday Express, warning that Labour "have basically written off rural Britain."
The strategy would put more officers on the beat, alongside a clampdown on fly-tipping and illegal traveller encampments. The Conservatives say Labour has yet to set out its own approach to the issue, despite Sir Keir Starmer pledging to tackle it two years ago. MPs now fear Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who represents a Manchester seat, will overlook the problems affecting rural England.
Mrs Badenoch said: "Andy Burnham is more interested in Manchester than the countryside. Given the apathy from government, it’s no surprise that farmers and tradesmen who have been victims of crime have stopped expecting anything to come of a call to the police. From fly-tipping, to illegal traveller encampments, to tool theft, it’s time Labour started taking rural crime seriously. Our Rural Crime Plan backs the people who feed and build this country. Only the Conservatives stand up for the countryside and our rural communities."
Rural Crime Plan task forces backed by 1,000 officers
The Conservative plan includes the introduction of specialised rural crime task forces across the country, backed by 1,000 dedicated officers who would deal solely with such offences. These recruits would come from the wider 10,000 new police officers the party has pledged to hire under any new Conservative government.
The measures also include a crackdown on secondary markets where stolen agricultural machinery is sold. Sentencing guidelines would be rewritten to impose the toughest sentences on those who make off with tradesman's tools and farmers' gear. Mrs Badenoch also announced that any new Conservative government would increase punishments for illegal waste dumping.
Repeal of Human Rights Act confirmed
The Conservatives have confirmed they would repeal the Human Rights Act (HRA) to hand police the power to remove traveller encampments. While police already have authority to move people occupying property illegally under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, the Tories argue the HRA makes this impossible to enforce.
Matt Vickers MP, a Conservative Shadow Home Office Minister, said: "Rural communities across the country are being forced to put up with unacceptable levels of crime. From theft to poaching to hare coursing, far too many offences go unpunished on Labour's watch and far too many people are left to fend for themselves. The Conservatives are on the side of rural people. That is why we will provide 1000 dedicated rural police officers, tackle the secondary markets where stolen goods are sold, prevent and remove illegal traveller encampments, and ramp up punishments for fly tipping. We are the only party with the plan and the backbone to clamp down on rural crime."
Rural burglary charge rate far lower than urban areas
Analysis seen by the Sunday Express suggests only 3.6% of burglaries in the most rural areas lead to a charge, compared to 8.7% in the most urban. In recent House of Commons exchanges, ministers even revealed they did not keep records of how many rural crimes led to prosecution.
Speaking last March, the then Attorney General said the Crown Prosecution Service "does not hold any central record" of prosecutions for crimes recorded in either rural or urban areas. Conservative MP and former minister Alan Mak welcomed the announcement, saying his party was "the party of rural and coastal Britain". He added: "Our plan to tackle rural crime, flytipping and traveller encampments shows we are on the side of law-abiding residents that Labour have ignored."
Starmer's rural crime strategy still unpublished
The previous prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, promised to release a government-backed rural crime strategy in April 2024. Critics point out that one has yet to be published - despite the former Home Secretary who backed the pledge, Yvette Cooper, still serving in Andy Burnham's Cabinet.
Last year, the Home Office announced additional funding to help tackle rural crime, amounting to £800,000. Then serving as Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed, said "for too long, rural crime has gone unpunished." The government pledged to clamp down on "organised crime, fly-tipping and farm theft blight our countryside."
