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Fall in rural crime costs welcomed - but more action still needed

Posted Today

An encouraging fall in the cost of rural crime is welcome – but there is more work to be done, a SA¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ expert has said.

The fall is one of the trends noted in this year’s from NFU Mutual, which was released yesterday.

It notes that the estimated cost of rural crime decreased by 16.5 per cent year-on-year, to £44.1m – with falls in agricultural vehicle and GPS theft, down 35 per cent to an estimated £7 million, and quad bike and all-terrain vehicle theft, down 16 per cent to £2.7 million.

However, the report also notes a three per cent rise in livestock theft – and an 18 per cent rise in the cost of rural crime in Wales.

It also notes the impact of farm crime on the mental health of farmers – with a survey of 115 NFU Mutual Agents finding 96 per cent of respondents citing concerns that rural crime was negatively affecting farmers’ mental health.

Dr Kreseda Smith, a rural criminologist, is Director of the wider Rural Resilience Research Group at Harper Adams - which examines emerging risks to food chain resilience such as rural crime.

She said: “It is good to see that overall claims have reduced.

“This is showing that a concerted effort is now paying dividends. The work being undertaken by the National Rural Crime Unit has made a positive impact on levels of crimes targeting key assets such as GPS units.

“The report is also recognising the impact that crime is having on farmer mental health, something which has been an important aspect of my own research for several years. The recognition of the increasingly organised nature of farm crime is something that this report highlights and is a key aspect to understanding what these offences really look like.”

However, while Dr Smith welcomes the drop in claims figures as good news, she also warns that farmers should not become complacent.

She added: “The NFU Mutual report only shows the tip of the iceberg, and these figures are just an indication of the real level of farm crime occurring across the UK.

“Farmers should always report these crimes to the police, regardless of what they believe the potential outcome to be.

“Without this information, the police have no way of understanding patterns of crime across police force areas and beyond.

“Please ensure that you talk to your local policing team to explore crime prevention measures that are effective and appropriate for your situation.

“Wherever possible, layer your crime prevention - using signs at entrances, boundary ditches, blocking unused entrances, forensic marking, security lighting, and high quality locks among other techniques. Anything that makes your farm a less attractive target is worthwhile.”

Dr Smith also believes that policy-makers and decision formers need to understand both the increasingly organised nature of rural crime – and the impact it is having on the communities it affects.

She added: “Policymakers also need to start to engage more with academia and community members to establish what can be done – and what can be done better - to address farm and rural crime, who is committing these crimes, and how it affects farmers and the country as a whole.

“The need for policymakers to understand that farm crime is organised, and to raise this up the political agenda, is essential to allow police forces to be able to properly resource the large expanses of rural and remote areas across the UK.”

_{Dr Smith will be holding two  Worcestershire focus groups looking at views of rural policing on July 7 - between 11am and noon and NFU Mutual Redditch, B97 6RB and between 2pm and 3pm at NFU Mutual Pershore, WR10 2TA.}

_{If you would like to attend any of these Focus Groups, please email Dr Smith at kresedasmith@harper-adams.ac.uk to register your interest, and for more information.}