BEWARE - RURAL CRIME IS ON THE INCREASE!
CITS member NFU Mutual has this week published their latest crime report confirming that rural crime is on the increase.
The report confirms £54.3m of claims in 2019, which is up by an increase of nearly 9% compared to previous years, and at its highest in 8 years.
The increase is largely due to the theft of larger equipment such as tractors, quad bikes and other high value machinery.
It is increasingly being reported that more stolen tractors are having their identity cloned to make them harder to detect when stolen. Quadbikes and ATVs have no registration plates and are easy to transport when stolen which makes them a vulnerable target.
Livestock theft has also seen an increase, with organised criminal gangs taking large numbers of sheep which ends up in the food chain illegally.
CITS urges everyone to stay aware and to follow their guidelines to protect farms and machinery.
