Wiltshire Police’s rural crime team has reported a recent increase in thefts of GPS systems from farm machinery.
The Wiltshire rural crime team said this is a very busy time for the farming community and is urging farmers to take all possile steps to protect their GPS equipment.
These steps inlude removing GPS equipment from tractors, combines and other machines where safe to do so and locking them away somewhere “safe and secure”.
“Alternatively please try and park vehicles where they cannot be easily seen, also consider forensically marking items by either using #SelectaDNA or painting or scratching your farm name or post code on to the GPS,” the team said.
“Please also be vigilant whilst out and about and report any suspicious activity to Wiltshire Police via online report, 101 or contact one of the team.”
NFU Mutual’s new rural crime report revealed that the cost of rural crime across the UK rose to £52.8 million, up from £50.6 million in 2022, with GPS unit thefts rising by 137% to £4.2 million.
The rural insurer has said all indications suggest rural crime is becoming more organised, sophisticated and determined in its nature.
Rural crime
The NFU Mutual rural crime report revealed that livestock theft remained high in 2023, at an estimated cost of £2.7 million across the UK.
Last year saw a spate of “alarming incidents” where farm animals were butchered in fields, NFU Mutual said.
This year, NFU Mutual funded the UK’s first livestock theft officer at the National Rural Crime Unit (NRCU) to tackle the crime.
Farm animals worth an estimated £2.4 million were severely injured or killed in dog attacks across the UK in 2023, up nearly 30% compared to the previous year.
Sharp rises in inflation in 2023 made farming equipment an attractive target for organised gangs and meant each theft cost the rural community more than in previous years, according to the rural insurer.
But a coordinated response against crime saw a reduction in the number of agricultural vehicle claims reported to NFU Mutual, which were down 9% to an estimated £10.7 million in 2023.
