Rural crime cost SW £6.1m in 2015

Rural crime cost the South West £6.1m in 2015, up from £5.9m in 2014 – despite remaining broadly static at a national level. The figures form part of NFU Mutual’s annual Rural Crime Report, published on 1 August, revealing that the cost of rural crime to the UK economy has now reached £42.5 million a year.

According to the leading rural insurer, the items most commonly targeted by thieves across the South West over the last 12 months were tools from farms and businesses, quad bikes (ATVs) and garden equipment. The South West also saw the second largest increase in the cost of livestock thefts, rising by 69%.

Martyn Summerall, NFU Mutual Senior Agent in the South West said: “Rural thieves are becoming increasingly sophisticated and using computers rather than bolt cutters to steal from farms and country properties. Farmers and police have been working hard to adopt high-tech security measures to tackle the problems which now include: cloning tractor identities, advertising non-existent machinery in agricultural publications and stealing the GPS computer systems which are a key part of modern farming.”

There has been a shift in the items being targeted at rural homes as well; in the latest survey of NFU Mutual’s agency network, the theft of garden equipment was sited as the biggest growing trend along with 4x4’s.

The majority of NFU Mutual Agent’s surveyed (65%) also reported that thieves in their area are becoming more sophisticated in the way that they operate and cyber crime is also a growing concern amongst their communities.

The survey also revealed that social media is now the main resource for sharing information about crime in rural communities and is a valuable tool – not only in the prevention of rural crime but also for catching criminals and returning stolen goods.

“Our advice to people living and working in the countryside remains the same; evaluate your current security measures making improvements where necessary, remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the local police but also community watch schemes,” Martyn concluded.

For more information and advice on how to beat rural crime in your area visit www.nfumutual.co.uk/ruralcrime