Conference held to tackle urgent need for combatting rural crime

Held at the NFU headquarters at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, the conference explored ways of combatting high levels of rural crime across Britain, including raising awareness among rural communities, preventative measures, and sharing key information and intelligence.

According to the latest figures from NFU Mutual, the cost of GPS thefts exceeded £500,000 in the first four months of 2023 alone, which is more than double when compared to the same period last year.

NFU vice president David Exwood commented: “Highly organised gangs of criminals continue to plague the great British countryside, stealing livestock and expensive GPS equipment, trespassing on private land and regularly fly-tipping tons of rubbish; their actions significantly impact farm businesses, farming families and rural communities, both financially and emotionally.

“Today’s conference demonstrates the importance of a collaborative approach with farmers, policymakers and police forces working together effectively at national and local level to help protect farmers, their livestock and possessions, all underpinned by solid legislation.”

Bob Henderson, NFU Mutual lead on Rural Crime, added: “We know that specialist police support is highly effective in tackling rural crime.

“Since NFU Mutual funded and set up a dedicated agricultural vehicle theft unit in 2010 it has shared intelligence, delivered training, and worked with police forces across the country and overseas to seize millions of pounds of stolen machinery.

“This team is now part of the new Rural Crime Unit which will strengthen work at a national level so that specialist police resources can be targeted where they are needed most to protect farmers and the wider rural community. We are proud to be the primary funders of the new unit and wish it every success in its work.”

Head of the National Rural Crime Unit, Superintendent Andy Huddleston, thanked the NFU and NFU Mutual for hosting the inaugural event, which was joined by all rural crime operational Inspectors from across all regions of the UK.

He also praised the impactful work of rural crime leads who have been integral to tackling the issue throughout Britain, but emphasized the need for further action.

“In the face of increasing thefts around machinery and GPS thefts, as well as instances of livestock theft and fly-tipping, there is an urgent need to improve coordination and partnership problem solving, regionally and nationally, as well as sharing the many instances of best practice such as Rural Watch, Partnerships Against Rural Crime and Rural Crime Volunteers.

“The newly formed National Rural Crime Unit (NRCU) is designed to do this and support UK police forces combat the organised crime groups that target rural communities.”