On Saturday 30th - a Surrey-based road surfacing contractor experienced a significant theft when over £140,000 worth of equipment was stolen from a site in the Biggleswade, Bedfordshire area.

The theft occurred around 4:00 AM when the thieves broke into the site, accessed a portacabin to retrieve keys, and made off with various equipment.

The Combined Industry Theft Solutions (CITS) group, in partnership with police and partners, held the last training event of 2024, which was hailed another success, hosted at South Yorkshire Police College.

On the 29th of November, the final CITS police training event of 2024 took place, in conjunction with the National Construction and Agricultural theft team (NCATT), Police liaison officers of the official CESAR Scheme, representatives of Cantrack Global, NFU Mutual, Leica, Clancy’s, Hitachi and J Murphy & Son’s.

With the Christmas holiday period fast approaching, all hire companies need to be more vigilant than the rest of the year. There will be long periods when hire depots are not manned and present the criminal element more time to break into yards and steal equipment, fuel, or batteries.

Year to date overview to include: GPS Theft / Survey Equipment Theft / Plant Machinery Theft / Theft Hotspots for GPS, Quads, Plant / Good News Stories.

During the end of June and throughout July, the NCATT (National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team) have been instrumental in recovering various items of stolen machinery, whilst working in conjunction with other police forces and units around the country.

1. JCB Excavator Recovered
2. Western Pressure Washer Recovered
3. Essex Police Recoveries
4. Fraudulently Hire Recoveries
5. Compressor Recovered
6. SANY Excavator Recovered
7. HAMM Roller Recovered
8. NCATT / INTERPOL Recoveries
9. Plant Trailer Recovery
10. Manitou Telehandler Recovery
11. NCATT / Essex Police Recoveries
12. Massey Ferguson Tractor Recovery
13. Hitachi Excavotor Recovered

The Combined Industry Theft Solutions (CITS) group, in partnership with police and partners, held another successful police training event at Birmingham’s police training centre, Tally Ho.

On the 30 July, the third CITS police training event of 2024, took place in conjunction with the National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team (NCATT), Police liaison officers of the official CESAR Scheme, representatives of Secure By Design (SBD), Leica, Clancy’s, Hitachi and J Murphy & Son’s.

The National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team (NCATT) team executed a warrant in conjunction with Gloucestershire Police last week.

On that day, they recovered several items of machinery, which had been stolen from hire companies, builders and farms. Other items recovered were designer watches, cash, and antiques.

Supt Andrew Huddleston Awarded the IAATI UK Peter Leigh Plant and Agricultural Award!

Supt Andrew Huddleston was presented the award for his outstanding work by Iain Mckinlay on behalf of IAATI UK.

Throughout the months of May and June, NCATT – the National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team – have been instrumental in assisting, identifying or recovering agricultural or construction plant and equipment, as well as disrupting Organised Criminal Groups (OCGs). 

These successes have been in conjunction with various police forces, and their specialist units including: Cheshire Rural Crime Team, Essex Rural Engagement Team, North and South Yorkshire Police, as well as West Mercia Police. In addition to those operations, NCATT also recovered construction plant in Gloucestershire and Gwent, whilst helping to identify stolen plant found in London.

Police from forces across the Midlands are taking part in a construction and equipment theft training day, hosted at Tally Ho Police Training College in Birmingham.

The latest CITS police only training event will take place at Tally Ho Police Training College in Birmingham on the 30th July.

A search for one power tool with a tracking device led to the seizure of over 3,500 suspected stolen items for which officers would now like to identify owners.

Officers have finished cataloguing the items since recovering them on 26 April 2024, and the latest estimate of their combined value is believed to exceed one million pounds.

The Combined Industry Theft Solutions (CITS) group, in partnership with police and partners, held a successful police training event at the offices of leading agricultural insurer, NFU Mutual, in Tiddington, Stratford-upon-Avon.

Police from forces across the Midlands are taking part in a farm and construction equipment training day hosted by the UK’s leading rural insurer NFU Mutual on June 5.

• Police from forces across the Midlands to attend rural crime training day 
• Farm security system demonstrations to take place 
• Latest figures from NFU Mutual reveal the estimated cost of rural crime in the Midlands shot up 30.1% to £11m in 2022

Farmers across the UK are being urged to be vigilant after a new wave of Global Positioning System (GPS) thefts in recent weeks, NFU Mutual and the National Rural Crime Unit (NRCU) have warned.

• NFU Mutual and the National Rural Crime Unit (NRCU) issue security alert following recent spate of GPS thefts
• Thieves hit farms in Lincolnshire, Essex, Newport, North Yorkshire, and Thames Valley
• Intel suggests farmers previously targeted in the last two years are being repeat victims

1. Joint police operation makes significant recovery!
2. Two Atlas Copco Generators Recovered!
3. Multi-agency action recovers stolen JCB!
4. A Stolen Wood Chipper Recovered!
5. A Stolen Hamm Roller is Recovered in Shropshire!
6. Stolen JCB – Arrest made!
7. NCATT recovers major machinery theft!

Thanks to a single power tool fitted with a tracking device, police have made seven arrests made and recovered more than 1,000 items in Kent.

A repeated victim of tool theft decided to attach trackers to his tools. When a drill went missing, he persuaded the police to act.

• Tradespeople given advice to step up security after spate of construction thefts
• Almost nine in 10 (89%) tradespeople have been victims of theft, NFU Mutual study finds
• Security measures urged with thefts from vehicles a common theme in the industry
• Advice comes as Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill makes progress  

An insurer of tradespeople has issued key advice following a recent rise in construction site thefts. 

Roger Bisby of Skill Builder YouTube Channels has a chat with Police Superintendent Andrew Huddleston about tool theft.

Andrew is Head of the National Rural Crime Unit / National Construction Agriculture Theft Team and NPCC lead: Theft of Construction & Agri Machinery.

Kent police officers who attended last month’s CITS organised CESAR police training day, proved it useful, when they raided a property in Medway, Kent, yesterday.

From that visit, they recovered a stolen JCB – which type (excavator/telehandler/etc.) – taken in 2019, and an IFOR Williams trailer.

In an on-going investigation by NaVCIS, NCATT, and Opal police units, a lorry was stopped whilst exiting the UK via Harwich on Monday 11th March, and found to contain 8 stolen machines.

The machines - with a combined value of £100,000 - had been stolen from North and South Yorkshire.

The National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team (NCATT), were contacted by security provider Automatrics, with regards to a theft alert in Rochdale.

NCATT swiftly attended the site and a Mercedes Sprinter on false plates was found together with a 1-tonne Dumper in the back. Both had been stolen from Greater Manchester on two separate occasions earlier this year. A number of other fake number plates were also found within the vehicle.

The Combined Industry Theft Solutions (CITS) group, in partnership with police and partners, held a successful police training event at Kent police College in Maidstone.

On February 26th, the first CITS police training event of 2024, took place in conjunction with the National Construction and Agricultural theft team (NCATT), Police liaison officers of the official CESAR Scheme, representatives of Secure By Design (SBD), NFU Mutual, Leica, Clancy’s, Hitachi and support from Leica and FM Conway.

NCATT Success - The National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team (NCATT), together with Essex Police’s Rural Engagement Team arrested one suspect for theft and handling of stolen plant last month.

NCATT Make 8 arrests - NCATT - National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team have had a busy first two weeks of 2024.

Two men have been jailed for their role in a series of high-value farm equipment thefts, following extensive investigations by Humberside Police and North Yorkshire Police. Tomas Staukauskas, 32, from Hull and Mantas Palionis, 31, also from Hull, were sentenced on Tuesday (21 November) at Hull Crown Court, having previously pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods and going equipped for theft.