Wildlife Crime Project: Strategic picture

Our Wildlife Crime Project is part of a larger national picture on wildlife crime prevention and enforcement. On this page we will outline that picture and provide links for more information.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy 2022-2025, states that the UK Government is subject to international obligations to ensure wildlife crime is effectively investigated.

The police lead on this with a duty to tackle and disrupt wildlife crime. The police focus on issues likely to have the greatest impact on communities, wildlife, and habitats.

The National Wildlife Crime Unit’s (NWCU) Strategic Assessment for Wildlife Crime outlines current threats, risks, and emerging issues. This outline aids the UK decision-making process on identifying areas that become the wildlife crime priorities.

There are seven UK wildlife crime priorities for 2022 – 2025, bat crime is one of them. Find out more about NWCU priorities.

The Bat Crime Priority Delivery Group (BCPDG) leads on this work. It is shaped via the objective to reduce bat crime.

BCPDG meets four times a year and is chaired by a member of the police service. The BCT provides deputy chair support and secretariat services. Membership comprises primarily of those in the criminal justice system, such as the police. Expertise is provided by Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies and other non-governmental organisations (NGO).

BCPDG’s main activities are:

• Work with key stakeholders.
• Identifying obstacles that prevent the BCPDG from delivering their objectives.
• Raise awareness of crimes against the eighteen UK bat species.
• Promoting a preventative approach.
• Developing support and improving standards of investigation relating to. offences against bats and their habitats.

The project is also on the Wildlife and Countryside LINK's wildlife crime subgroup for England and Wales. Wildlife and Countryside Link (Link) is the largest environment and wildlife coalition in England, bringing together 82 organisations to use their strong joint voice for the protection of nature.

LINK campaigns to conserve, enhance and access our landscapes, animals, plants, habitats, rivers and seas. Together, LINK have the support of over eight million people in the UK and directly protects over 750,000 hectares of land and 800 miles of coastline.

In addition, the project features on the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Community Involvement Panel chaired by the CPS senior Wildlife, Rural and Heritage Crime Champion. The panel is made up of CPS and non-governmental organisations whose aims include tackling all forms of wildlife, rural and heritage crime. This panel examines current trends in relation to the commission of these crimes and the response of criminal justice agencies to such offending.