To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether rural crime is a serious issue affecting communities across Scotland and local police presence is crucial to its prevention. (S7O-00068)

The Scottish Government fully recognises the impact of rural crime and supports action to tackle it through the work of the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime, which is a multi-agency partnership led by Police Scotland that aims to prevent, reduce and tackle rural crime.

The partnership’s strategy includes actions around how perpetrators will be brought to justice, how rural communities can safeguard against such crimes and how individuals can be diverted from being involved in them.

There is also a series of local partnerships that has expanded across the country, strengthening the focus on prevention activity, particularly as criminality recognises no borders. Together, those efforts ensure a co-ordinated, intelligence-led response to rural crime and help to protect our communities.

I highlight that the estimated cost of rural crime in Scotland rose by 14 per cent in 2025, bucking declining trends across the rest of the United Kingdom. Does the Scottish Government consider that the closure of 180 police station across Scotland between 2013 and the end of 2025 has stifled efforts to prevent and address crime in rural areas?

I believe that the resources at the disposal of the chief constable are sufficient to ensure that police numbers can be maintained at 16,500, meaning that we have more police officers per head of population than is the case in England and Wales. That is supported by record investment of more than £1.7 billion.

Deployment decisions and infrastructure decisions are operational matters for the independent chief constable, but that strong resource position, combined with the workforce of more than 22,000, ensures the capacity to respond to both rural and urban demands.

I have a supplementary question from Gary Bouse.

Thank you, Presiding Officer. It is pronounced “Bowse”.

You have been called worse.

Yes, sometimes. “Blouse” is probably the main one.

Can the Cabinet secretary reassure my constituents that, despite the unique challenges of rural policing, the recruitment pipeline remains strong, allowing the chief constable to keep police numbers at around 16,500?

The Scottish Government is investing record funding of more than £1.7 billion in 2026-27, and the chief constable confirmed at the Criminal Justice Committee that the budget allocation will allow her to maintain officer numbers at around 16,500.

Police Scotland maintains that it has a healthy recruitment pipeline, with around 175 new officers recruited last month and further recruitment planned throughout the year. The chief constable confirmed to the Scottish Police Authority board last month that recruitment will have a particular focus on rural and island communities.

The justice secretary knows that there is a total mismatch and inequality of arms between organised crime gangs that are operating in rural Scotland and the rural police presence. Ninety-two per cent of NFU Mutual agents are saying that rural crime is seriously disrupting farming activities. As a starting point, will the justice secretary meet my colleague Rachael Hamilton, who is introducing a member’s bill that would replicate the measures contained in the English Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023?

I am happy to meet colleagues from across the Parliament to engage with ideas about how we can ensure that tools are available to our justice partners to make sure that communities across Scotland are kept safe. I reassure Mr Kerr—as I hope that he was reassured by my answer to Mr Bouse—that the recruitment of new police officers through the system has prioritised rural and island communities. That reflects changing demands and, in particular, the response to organised criminal gangs that are operating across borders, not just in rural Scotland but across the UK.