Vehicle security in rural areas

According to the latest figures, the cost of agricultural vehicle theft stood at £10.7 million as organised criminal gangs target farmyards for high-value tractors, GPS systems and trailers. In particular, quad and ATV theft cost £3.2m, with incidents usually peaking in the winter months.

Over the last couple of weeks, Devon and Cornwall Police Rural Affairs Team has reported a spike in quad bike thefts across the region, and have emphasised the importance of securing vehicles and equipment. With this in mind, they are urging farmers and farm workers to remain vigilant and enhance security measures using the following proactive steps to deter thefts and make it more difficult for criminals to target rural properties.

• Keys should be removed from vehicles when not in use and stored in a safe place which is not easily accessible to potential criminals or the general public.
• Where ever possible, vehicle and machinery should be kept in a lockable building. If it is not possible to store in a locked building, store in a locked yard if available and install lockable gates on access routes.
• Farmers are encouraged to use ‘layers’ of farm security from the perimeter right up to the piece of equipment being protected. This means locking gates, installing lighting where suitable, installing CCTV camera systems, drive entrance (movement) detectors, installing security alarm systems on buildings, yards and machinery, fitting trackers to vehicles and machinery, property marking using forensic marking techniques (more information can be found on the official Police security initiative, www.securedbydesign.com).
• Farmers are encouraged to remove items such as GPS and other equipment (where possible) when the vehicle is not in use.
• All equipment and vehicles should be listed and photographed. In particular, the VIN, engine, chassis numbers and other identifying marks on vehicles and machinery should be accurately recorded.
• Equipment should be registered with the free national property register – Immobilise The National Property Register and The Equipment Register.
• Landowners, farmers, and rural businesses are encouraged to join Farm Watch and other local social media / community groups to stay connected with their local areas.

If you see anything suspicious, or are a victim of crime it is vital you report it by calling police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.

The CLA South West team is in regular contact with police forces across the region to ensure the problem of rural crime is not ignored. If there are any areas of rural crime you would like us to raise with the region’s rural crime teams, please get in touch with Mark Burton and Duncan Anderson-Margetts.