New national unit leads fightback against farm thefts
© Tim Scrivener A new rural crime unit is leading a nationwide and international crackdown against the hordes of thieves plaguing the British countryside.
Established in April, the National Rural Crime Unit (NRCU) has been charged with combating rural thieves.
It will access greater investigative powers to track and intercept stolen machinery and equipment and share intelligence across police forces in this country and overseas.
The team consists of four people and is headed by Northumbria Police superintendent Andy Huddleston.
It has already achieved great success in identifying more than £1.2m of stolen equipment and retrieving more than £500,000 worth of stolen UK machinery from Europe.
See also: Cost of rural crime up £9m, as gangs target farms
It comes as the latest NFU Mutual Rural Crime Report shows that, amid a background of soaring values and low supply of farm machinery, the cost of rural crime in the UK is up 22%.
This has increased from an estimated value of £40.5m to £49.5m in 2022.
Supt Huddleston said: “In our best month, 40 machines were stolen from the construction and agricultural sector, while in our worst month, which occurred in the first half of this year, we’ve had nearly 200 stolen.
“These were all £40,000-£50,000 machines.”
The stolen machinery is not necessarily intended for the UK market.
The NRCU’s linking and sharing of stolen machinery data with Europe and Interpol reveals a vast black market network supplying the countries surrounding the Ukrainian conflict.
“This has not necessarily been thefts increasing for UK demand, it’s because of the demand in eastern Europe for machinery, and the inability of manufacturers to sell to Russia,” explained Supt Huddleston.
“Organised crime has absolutely capitalised on this, and the provision of machinery for the black market has gone through the roof.
“Russia and Ukraine have some of the biggest arable areas in the world. They need this kit.”
Supt Huddleston said machinery manufacturers also had a part to play in updating security measures on equipment.
“You can start a brand new quadbike with a screwdriver, and certain manufacturers of tractor have one key that will start every machine in their range.
“One quad bike manufacturer actually said that if they were to improve security, it would cannibalise their sales figures, and I think that’s scandalous.
“We want to reduce crime, but is not an issue that we can arrest our way out of; it requires a collaborative approach from industry.”
NFU vice-president David Exwood said rural crime was having a significant impact on farm businesses and farming families, both financially and emotionally.
Calling for a more collaborative approach to tackle this crime epidemic, he said:
“The National Rural Crime Unit is a great example of farmers, policymakers and police forces working together effectively at national and local level to examine ways of how UK farming businesses can be protected from criminal gangs.”
Farm crime victims left counting the cost
Farmers across the country are falling victim to thieves, and are left facing consequences that take months to recover from.
Adam Strand, from Kent, had the GPS kits stolen from four New Holland tractors in May.
“My brother found them with all of their doors smashed, “ said Mr Strand.
“The thieves had cut the screens out of the cabs, the domes off the roof, and the nav controllers out the back of the cab. They had cut the wiring to the yard security lighting.
“It was quite sickening really.
“We got a quote form the dealership to put the tractors back to how they should be, and it was just over £100,000. They reckon it is going to take 40 hours per tractor.
Oxfordshire young farmer Ben Davies had his Land Rover Defender stolen from the farmyard. “It was locked, had an immobiliser and steering wheel lock,” he said.
“It was taken from the yard at some point in the night – we have never had any leads as to where it went, but the police suspect it was broken for parts and sent overseas.”