Back in July this year, the Welsh Government published the Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy (2023 to 2025) which represents a collaboration between the government and Welsh police forces. The government states that the strategy builds on what was achieved through the first joint strategy, published in 2023.
Before the publication of that strategy, the first Wildlife & Rural Crime Coordinator in Wales, Rob Taylor, was appointed in 2021. The Coordinator’s responsibilities include facilitating the rural crime teams found in each of the Welsh policing regions and collaborating with partners in a variety of public bodies to get to grips with rural crime. The publication of the new strategy comes alongside with a commitment to fund the Coordinator’s role until at least 2028.
Wildlife and rural crimes are defined as specific offences that usually occur in a rural context. These usually affect farmers and communities with lower population densities, as well as wildlife, natural habitats and heritage. This can include theft of animals, poaching, illegal hunting, poisoning, illegal tipping, waste disposal and habitat destruction. There are crimes that could be seen to occur in towns as well, and as a result defining what exactly qualifies as ‘rural crimes’ can be a difficult task. However, the circumstances of the crim committed, the response to those crimes and the access to police support available to those communities can be very different in rural areas. The aim of the strategy is to provide a framework in order to understand that context, and to present some of the research and engagement work undertaken during the lifetime of the project so far.
In a jointly written forward to the strategy Nigel Harrison, Deputy Chief Constable North Wales Police NPCC Lead for Wildlife & Rural Crime, and Huw Irranca–Davies MS, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change Rural Affairs Welsh Government, said:
“We are confident that collaboration is the right approach for Wales – between the Welsh Government and the police and, critically, with our other partners in the statutory and NGO sectors, without who much of this work simply could not be delivered. The involvement of dozens of organisations across all the priority areas therefore remains critical to achieving success.
As could be expected, there have been key learnings from the first two–year Strategy which, along with the results of the stakeholder consultation, have shaped the development of this new strategic approach. It is evident the innovative role of the Wales Wildlife and Rural Crime Coordinator, which is now approaching a fifth year, continues to be pivotal and as such the Welsh Government has committed a further three years of funding, to correspond with the period to which this Strategy applies.
The commitment to dovetail with wildlife and rural crime strategies at a UK level is preserved so that we may stay alert to national or international trends, and to ensure key outcomes are shared in both directions. We also remain, however, ambitious for what can be achieved by those working together and responding to the issues specific to, and appropriate for, Wales so that our wildlife, environment and rural communities can be better protected.”
To read the strategy in full, follow this link.
