THE COST of rural crime in Scotland rose 44% in the year 2019, as criminal gangs targeted high-value farm machinery and livestock.

Rural insurer NFU Mutual published their 2020 Rural Crime Report this week, revealing that rural theft has taken £2.3m out of Scotland’s rural communities with their main target on tractors, quad bikes, and livestock.

Rural crime costs in Scotland do, however, remain well below the UK average, with rural theft costs estimated at £54m in 2019 – an increase of 9% on the previous year.

 

It should be noted that these figures only account for the number of claims of those insured with NFU Mutual and cover the period between January and December 2019.

Since Scotland went into lockdown during the pandemic, The Police Scotland National Rural Crime Unit reported a 39% reduction in rural thefts for the months of April, May and June, down from the same quarter last year.

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While there have been some reductions in crime during lockdown – with the exception of incidences of fly tipping - there are concerns that rural theft is set to escalate as the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic bites.

NFU Mutual Regional Manager for Scotland, Mark McBrearty, said: “We’re very concerned that rural crime is taking an increasing toll on the Scottish countryside at a time when COVID-19 is putting huge extra pressure on everyone’s lives and farmers are working flat out to feed the nation.

“There’s no doubt that very determined organised criminal gangs are targeting Scotland’s countryside and without the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime initiative we would be seeing even higher costs. Latest figures from SPARC show that £329,000 of stolen machinery was recovered by Police Scotland between April and June 2020 thanks to shared intelligence and greater use of tracking devices.”

Turning to the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on rural crime he added: “NFU Mutual’s provisional theft claims data for the first half of 2020 indicates that while rural theft fell overall during the early part of pandemic lockdown, we’re now seeking signs that thieves are becoming more active again.

“Closed local authority tips contributed to huge increase in fly tipping on Scotland farms – and an influx of walkers has led to dog attacks on livestock. This is very worrying following the success of the campaign to encourage dog walkers to control their pets on farmland.”

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NFU Scotland’s Legal and Technical Chairman, Tom French, added: “These figures show just how high the cost of rural crime is on the countryside and the smaller communities that live in it. These costs have serious psychological and financial impact on farmers, crofters and wider rural economy and communities when they occur.

“Vehicle and machinery are significant investments and theft can be a massive cost for any farm business,” he continued. “This can be an additional cost for farmers and crofters, who not only produce high quality food and drink but also act as custodians for our environment.

“In addition to theft, farmers and crofters are also experiencing an increase in fly-tipping and access issues, most recently linked with wild camping. These issues impact farming and crofting, but also our rural communities, and serves as a reminder for everyone to remain vigilant to rural crimes and report problems to the relevant authorities,” he concluded.