FOI 1030/26

REQUEST

Please can you tell me:

1. Whether your police force has a rural crime taskforce or unit dedicated to tackling rural crime.
2. How many officers have been allocated to the taskforce or tackling rural crime in year ending 30 September 2025. 

Rural crime means any unlawful act or ASB taking place in the country, including offences such as theft of farm machinery, fly-tipping etc. 

RESPONSE

Questions 1 & 2

As at 30^th September 2025, there was not a specific rural crime unit; however, the force has had agreement for a dedicated rural, wildlife and heritage crime team and is currently going forward to the recruitment stage for these posts. The team will include 3 police officer posts who are dedicated full-time to the force’s response.

In addition to this, each neighbourhood policing area has points of contact for rural and wildlife crime who act as support, co-ordination and crime prevention liaison for our communities’ farmers and rural residents. While these roles aren’t full-time dedicated posts, they form a large part of their daily responsibilities. All these posts are trained and supported by the force in partnership with the Welsh Government Team, NFU (National Farmers’ Union) and NRW (Natural Resources Wales) as well as other partners.

Each area has access to Neighbourhood Support Teams who regularly conduct proactive operations to support the forces commitment to crime prevention and detection within our rural communities.

The force also has a Superintendent who acts as a force lead in this area supported by an Assistant Chief Constable, as well as an Inspector and Sergeant who help coordinate and develop the forces approach. Again, these are not dedicated posts but represent a significant commitment to this important area in our force’s delivery plan.