The Home Office announced that the funding for the National Rural Crime Unit and National Wildlife Crime Unit will be used to tackle crimes including farm equipment theft, livestock theft and hare coursing.
This comes after persistent lobbying from the NFU.
NFU Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire Chair Freya Morgan said: “Rural crime is a major issue for farmers in this area and more resources to tackle it are urgently needed, so it is good to hear of this funding.
“But all major areas of rural crime need to be addressed, with many communities under siege from criminal gangs, and there are gaps in the government’s plans.
“NFU Mutual’s rural crime report shows there was a shocking 187% surge in farm animals being severely injured or killed in dog attacks in the East of England last year.
“The NFU is still waiting for an update on the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill which aims to give police more powers to tackle this.”
Recent Defra statistics show that fly-tipping incidents rose, nationally, by 6% from 1.08 million in 2022/23 to 1.15 million in 2023/24.
Mrs Morgan said: “I constantly hear of farmers dealing with fly-tipping, often on an industrial scale, with the perpetrators frequently unpunished and undeterred.
“Fly-tipping is a serious crime which costs the farming industry tens of millions of pounds a year in clear-up costs, damages the environment and blights the countryside. With local authorities responsible for clearing up fly-tips on public land, this crime also come at a heavy cost to taxpayers.
“The government has spoken of plans to address this, but we need to see these plans urgently brought into use.”
The government said the funding will be used to increase collaboration across police forces and harness the latest technology and data to target the serious organised crime groups.
New measures in the government's Crime and Policing Bill will also see statutory guidance issued to local authorities, enabling them to make full use of their fly-tipping enforcement powers.
The NFU has worked closely with Bedfordshire Police, the Police and Crime Commissioner and local politicians for many years to tackle rural crime in the county.
Police across the country were given greater powers to tackle hare coursing after North East Bedfordshire MP Richard Fuller tabled a private members bill, following collaboration with the NFU.
The new legislation came into effect on August 1, 2022, and helps to deter hare coursers by giving police forces the means to seize more dogs and by lifting the existing limit on fines.
Mrs Morgan believes collaboration with the NFU has ensured that police communication with the rural community has improved, the online crime reporting system has become more effective and police officers and call handlers now have a much better understanding of rural crime and its impact than in the past.
Mrs Morgan said: “We have really positive working relationships with Bedfordshire Police, and our PCC and, with the right resources and support in place from the government, we can make a real impact.”