Rural crime falls but farms still at risk from ‘clever’ thieves

Rural crime falls but farms still at risk from ‘clever’ thieves
Rural crime rates have dropped to their lowest level in five years according to the latest figures from NFU Mutual, which estimates the cost of farm theft at just over £43m in 2020. Coronavirus lockdown restrictions, better rural policing and beefed-up on-farm security all helped contain the cost of crime in the countryside, with a 20% fall recorded in the past 12 months, the rural insurer has revealed in its 2021 Rural Crime Report, published on 3 August.

Farmers must remain Vigilant

However, farmers still need to be on their guard. Some individual items have proved more attractive than others, with the theft of high-value GPS systems rocketing to £2.9m – almost twice the previous year’s figure. The cost of agricultural vehicle theft reported to the rural insurer remained at more than £9m. Quad bike and ATV theft were valued at £2.5m. Criminals have been becoming ever more inventive. With electric scooters used in the North West to swoop on farms at night, to steal the expensive GPS domes. The total number of theft claims decreased, the average cost of a claim rose to £4,425 – up from £4,128 in 2019.

How to protect yourself from GPS theft

Thefts of GPS systems is a major worry for farmers and their farmers, especially during harvest season. The equipment can be costly to replace and can massively disrupt day to day farming operations. The technology plays a vital role in modern farming and thefts of systems can take time to replace, causing delays during busy periods such as harvest. As thieves are becoming more and more cunning. We’ve written tips to help farms protect GPS systems from thieves:
  • Remove GPS kit when possible from tractors and other machinery and store it securely when not in use.
  • Activate PIN security on the GPS kit with your own unique number if available.
  • Keep tractors and combines with GPS fitted stored out of sight when possible.
  • Record serial numbers and photograph your kit.
  • If your system is not PIN-enabled, mark your postcode to deter thieves and trace your property back to you.
  • Check serial numbers of second-hand kit offered for sale.

Hardest Hit Farms Region

On a county-by-county basis, Lincolnshire retains its top spot as the worst affected county, by cost, followed by Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk. Conversely, the report says the biggest percentage falls in the cost of rural theft were in Wales (-39% to £1.6m), Northern Ireland (-37% to £2.1m) and Scotland (-25% to £1.7m). The NFU Mutual headline figures are based on the company’s own claims data, plus an estimate built in to account for uninsured losses and claims covered by other companies. If you see any suspected theft, don’t hesitate to contact your local police asap! For more information on how Oilfast can help farms through the harvest season visit here