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.

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.

Latest social media news from the National Construction & Agriculture Theft Team.

Features: Recovery of Remotely Controlled Excvator / Recovery of ATV in Coventry Area / Recovery of Honda ATV in ThamesVP Area / Recovery of 2 Stolen Agri ATVs

A CITS organised police training day, highlighting  latest rural crime trends took place yesterday (November 21st) in Scotland, at Lanark Auction House.

The event, which was opened by Supt. Andrew Huddleston from Northumbria Police, provided over 70 Police Scotland officers with opportunities to learn about latest crime trends and security measures and included presentations from security experts, including DC Chris Piggott, the UK’s international police liaison officer, Bob Henderson, Head of Engineering at NFU Mutual and representatives from the CESAR Scheme, the official Home Office machinery marking system.

An officer who attended last week’s CITS police training event in Lanark, Scotland was instrumental in recovering two All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) stolen from North Berwick.

A police training day spotlighting rural crime trends and security system developments is being held at Lanark Auction House on November 21.

The event is being organised by the Combined Industries Theft Solutions forum (CITS), an organisation dedicated to reducing the effects of crime on the construction industry and the farming communities.

A police training day spotlighting rural crime trends and security system developments is being held at Lanark Auction House on November 21.

The event is being organised by the Combined Industries Theft Solutions forum (CITS), an organisation dedicated to reducing the effects of crime on the construction industry and the farming communities.

NCATT - National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team - together with Thames Valley Police’s Rural Crime Team, recovered a stolen Kubota mini-excavator and pecker/breaker within two hours of being informed of the theft by the owners, Gap Group.

NCATT - National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team - together with Thames Valley Police’s Rural Crime Team, recovered a stolen Kubota mini-excavator and pecker/breaker within two hours of being informed of the theft by the owners, Gap Group.

CITS partners NCATT and NaVCIS were instrumental in locating this Honda Quad Bike in Bulgaria, which had been stolen two weeks ago from Hampshire. It is valued at approximately £6,000.

From information received, CITS partner NCATT – National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team, together with the Warwickshire Rural Crime team, recovered £350,000 of stolen and fraudulently hired machinery from a South Warwickshire property on September 5th.

From intelligence received from a CITS member, NCATT – National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team – this week recovered a ’23-plate New Holland T6 Tractor with front and rear attachments. 

CITS partners NCATT – National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team – on Monday 4th September recovered this 2018 stolen Manitou MT632 from a location in Hertfordshire. 

NCATT - the specialist police unit and CITS member – assisted Essex Police with the recovery of a stolen dumper, which had been cloned.

The 2021 machine – valued at £15,000 - was stolen a fortnight ago from Essex.

This week two NCATT officers, examined and recovered two machines.

Both machines were identified as stolen, the first from Merseyside and the other from Cheshire.

The amount of fuel thefts being reported across the UK shows no sign of decreasing, despite the price of fuel coming down in the last few months. On site generators, fuel bowsers, parked HGV’s and construction plant are still regularly targeted for fuel.

Yesterday (28.06.23) saw another successful police training event held at the impressive Leica Geosystem training centre in Milton Keynes, with key involvement from the National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team (NCATT), CESAR, and Hitachi construction.

Over 70 officers attended the full day's training, which offered practical tips on identifying stolen plant, including demonstrations on stolen construction and agricultural machinery identification from DC Chris Piggott of NCATT, and Police Liaison officer Vincent Laine from CESAR, as well as rogue equipment movements and common tricks used by criminals to target industry.

A campaign has been launched in Birmingham to respect road workers after civils staff were threatened with weapons including machetes, crossbows and dogs.

In the last three years 465 incidents of road worker abuse have been reported in Birmingham including a driver who threatened to chop off an operative’s head with an electric handsaw unless he was allowed through a closed road.

Partly thanks to an On The Tools White Paper, the UK Government is collecting tradespeople’s opinions on tool theft. Let them know which tools need protection and how they should be protected for the new "Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill".

On May 24th, newly formed police unit NCATT assisted GAP Group with the recovery of a machine hired to a suspected fraudster. A warrant was issued, and a Humberside property was visited where the machine – valued at £45,000 - was recovered.

NCATT - National Construction and Agri Theft Team – in conjunction with NaVCIS Intel and NaVCIS port, recovered a stolen Bomag Roller on May 17th at Harwich Port, which was being sent to Cyprus. The machine was stolen in Nottinghamshire in 2020. The machine is valued at £20,000.

On May 11th, new police unit NCATT - National Construction and Agri Theft Team – visited a Lincolnshire address to arrest one male in connection with Quad bike thefts.

NCATT - National Construction and Agri Theft Team - deployed officers to attend a property in North Yorkshire, where they identified two cloned stolen Dumpers, which were both recovered at the scene.

New police unit NCATT - National Construction and Agri Theft Team (NCATT) - received information that a suspected stolen excavator was on board a ferry travelling to the Hook of Holland, and immediately contacted Dutch police colleagues.

Yesterday (27th April 2023) NCATT (The National Construction & Agricultural Theft Team) officers were involved in a multi-agency initiative with Cambridgeshire Police Rural Crime Team.

NCATT assisted North Wales, Cheshire and Staffordshire Rural Crime Teams with a warrant in Staffordshire for the theft of cattle. During the raid a John Deere 6820, stolen from a local farm in September 2022 was recovered, approximate value 15K.

CITS' Associate member HSS had a machine stolen from the Milton Keynes area two weeks ago, but thanks to intelligence received by CITS police partners, the machine was located and recovered by Bulgarian Police.

New CITS partners, the National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team (NCATT) successfully recovered £50,000 of stolen construction machinery in Yorkshire last week.

The team recovered a stolen Takeuchi TB260 compact-excavator and two (a Terex and a Mecalec) 1-tonne dumpers.

The NaVCIS Rural unit assisted Northamptonshire police in two separate raids on March 17th. 

The first raid was to a scrap metal yard, where Environment Agency representatives also attended. The nine vehicles seized were four quad bikes, two vans on false number plates, two Ford low-loaders, and a Land Rover Defender.

The Combined Industry Theft Solutions (CITS) group, in partnership with Police, and Leica Geosystems, held a successful police training event at their facilities in Whitchurch, Shropshire. On February 28th, CITS in conjunction Leica Geosystems, and supported by equipment manufacturer Hitachi, and their fellow industry providers SITECH UK and Ireland, hosted a special police training event for over 60 police officers from regional forces.

Using intelligence received from a Warwickshire farm theft earlier this week, NaVCIS Rural together with Warwickshire and West Mercia police teams searched a location in Cleeve Prior, Evesham, Worcestershire.

NaVCIS conducted a week-long ports operation at the beginning of February, where they managed to recover over £350,000 worth of stolen items. Amongst the items recovered included: a JCB Telehandler, a Honda Quad Bike, two compressors, and various other vehicles, which were all ready for export out of the country.

On Friday 10th February, CanTrack with the support of a NaVCIS officer, recovered a stolen Forest Woodchipper from an area near Telford.

The woodchipper was found in the back of a large van. 

The NaVCIS police team yesterday assisted Lincolnshire Police with a reported tracked Quad bike, stolen from Sussex.

The bike which was tracked led the police team to a chop shop, where it was seized at the property.

Yesterday CITS partners NaVCIS In conjunction with Thames Valley Police’s Rural Crime Team, recovered a £65,000 New Holland T7 tractor in Oxford.

CanTrack Global assisted Wilshire Police and NaVCIS officer Gavin Hughes in recovering two stolen Gap Group machines. 

The machines were recently stolen in Hampshire; but were recovered from a remote location using CanTrack’s system.

There has been a significant increase in the theft of survey/GPS equipment since the beginning of December, in the West Midlands and South Yorkshire areas.

Historically, reported survey equipment thefts have primarily been limited to London, and were usually stolen from the roadside whilst in use.

The Combined Industry Theft Solutions (CITS) group, in partnership with police, and construction equipment manufacturer Hitachi Construction Machinery recently held a successful police training event at their new production facility in the North East of England. On November 22nd, CITS in conjunction Hitachi, hosted a special police training event for 60 officers from five regional force areas including Northumbria, Cleveland, North Yorkshire, Durham and Police Scotland constabularies.

The Tradespeople Against Tool Theft white paper was created to explore and highlight the realities of UK tradespeople who have been impacted by tool theft. This report uses information gathered from in-depth interviews, live focus groups, and targeted surveys to incorporate the real-life experiences and opinions of tradespeople, consumers, construction industry bodies, and construction brands who have been impacted by tool theft.

Businesses from across the sector are being asked to give their views on the first ever unified plan to slash the amount of diesel used on sites. Last year the Construction Leadership Council’s CO2nstruct Zero campaign set a target to cut the amount of diesel used by construction by 78% by 2035.

Reported fuel thefts increased sharply during August and September 2022, and are significantly higher this year compared to last year. The peak in reported fuel thefts in the summer months correlates with the high fuel prices that we saw during this time. Fuel prices came down slightly in October, and this was reflected in reported fuel thefts (however, there is a delay in the reporting of some data, which will have contributed to this).

The Combined Industry Theft Solutions (CITS) group, in partnership with the Ben Burgess, the John Deere dealer held a successful police training day in Ellington! On October 17th CITS, in conjunction with the Ben Burgess agricultural dealer in Ellington, held a special police training event, for 40 officers, from five East Anglian forces.

NaVCIS specialist vehicle examiner, helped aid Bedfordshire police on the 18/10/22, to recover a number of stolen vehicles. Amongst the haul of stolen items were, two cloned transit vans, two bowsers and three trailers, approximate value of the items recovered was £50,000.

The Combined Industry Theft Solutions (CITS) group, in partnership with Ben Burgess agricultural team held a successful police training day in Ellington! On October 17th CITS, in conjunction with Ben Burgess Farming in Ellington, held a special police training event, for 40 officers, from five East of England forces.

Welcome to the new monthly e-newsletter from the NBCC to keep you up to date with the latest news, campaigns, crime prevention guidance and support for businesses in the joint fight against business crime. Please share with your networks.

The NaVCIS team assisted the Metropolitan Police in a raid on an Essex property. Discovered there was a 2014 John Deere Gator which had been stolen from Essex, and a 2014 Ford Transit Tipper stolen from London.

NaVCIS Rural Team visited a Dorset property with Dorset’s Rural Crime Team, HMRC and the Environment Agency, where they recovered a JCB Telehandler which had been stolen in 2019 from Bedfordshire.

NaVCIS assisted Cambridgeshire Police Rural Crime Team in a roadside operation on September 21st, which resulted in seizing two stolen items: a Brendon Power Washer and a JCB 8008 Mini Excavator.

A £10,000 mini-excavator which had been stolen from Hertfordshire in 2018, was recovered with the aid of a Metropolitan Police warrant and the support of NaVCIS.

CITS partners NaVCIS provided assistance to the Humberside Rural Crime Team last week, following the discovery of a stolen BMW and Motorhome at a farm property in East Yorkshire.

On July 29th, Clancy and the Construction Industry Theft Solutions (CITS) had 58 police officers from six police forces attend a full day's training into Plant and Agricultural machinery theft, held at Clancy’s offices in Harefield, West London. The event involved various presentations and investigative machinery identification examinations in the afternoon.

A resounding success! CITS in conjunction with Clancy and Combined Industry Theft Solutions held a police training day in Harefield. 58 police officers from six forces attended a full day's training into Plant and Agricultural machinery theft and identification with hands-on examinations in the afternoon.

The NaVCIS police unit was contacted on July 12th by the Hungarian Border Control Police, who had stopped a lorry transporting 2 Volvo excavators.

The latest Opal Ace 6 month review is now available to download (January –June 2022)

Published by Intelligence Development Officer Scott Jeffreys & Intelligence Analyst Luke Juffkins

Contents Include:

• What ACE have done
• Key Crime Trends
• Partnership Working
• Emerging Threats
• What’s Coming Up

Trailer theft has increased by 69% during 2022 compared with 2021 (Jan-June) and is likely to increase further due to high demand. This figure includes trailers of all varieties, but there has been a recent increase in theft of agricultural trailers including horse boxes and other livestock trailers.

NaVCIS Rural assisted the Dorset Rural Crime team in a raid on June 14th, to arrest two suspects in connection with various vehicle, plant and tool thefts.  Two rural properties were searched, and various confirmed and suspected stolen vehicles, plant and power tools were located.

The NaVCIS Rural Team helped identify a stolen trailer during a multi-agency police operation on the Cambridgeshire/Bedfordshire border, which took place on June 8th.

CITS partners, NaVCIS Rural team, assisted police and border force colleagues at the Hungarian Border over the bank holiday weekend, with the identifying of a stolen John Deere 3033.

Navcis Rural, this week attended a property in Sussex with the Sussex Rural Crime Team and identified and seized a number of stolen items from the property.

On the 23rd May 2022, during the morning plant and equipment checks a bottle was found under an ADT and upon further inspection it was an Improvised Incendiary Firebomb. This methodology behind the incident is not the first and shows a change in dynamics and an escalation in previous vandalism incidents.

The NaVCIS Rural team assisted TVP and Northamptonshire Police with a Buckinghamshire raid, which resulted in the recovery of a stolen Brendon Bowser and a 2020 Ifor Williams Flatbed Trailer.

The NaVCIS Rural and Leisure team were involved in a Metropolitan Police led raid in Essex on May 11th. The raid recovered a huge quantity of stolen plant and equipment from several containers at the scene.

Whilst NAVCIS officers were assisting Derbyshire’s Rural Crime Team on a pre-planned operation on the M1 motorway on April 26th, a cloned pickup truck (see image below) valued at £9,000, was stopped and examined. 

The NaVCIS Rural team attended a Bedfordshire location with Northants Rural Crime officer, PC Hutchings, after he had received an enquiry relating to stolen machinery. Whilst the officers were at the property, numerous items were found and identified to have been either stolen or fitted with false identification. 

NaVCIS officers supported Environment Agency personnel during a raid at a Lincolnshire farm, which resulted in the recovery of over £60,000 worth of stolen items. 

A CITS trained agricultural and plant intelligence development officer, last week attended a planned operation with West Mercia Police.

CITS supporters NaVCIS and Datatag ID provided Lincolnshire Rural Crime and Roads Policing officers with specialist training, which was later embedded with a roadside operation.

The NaVCIS team assisted Norfolk Police at a farm location in Lincolnshire, following a report of a tracking device being activated.

Long term CITS partners NAVCIS, have helped secure the conviction of Mantas Dvareckas, 25, of Granville Road, Great Yarmouth. Dvareckas has been jailed for over two years for the theft of high-valued GPS navigation systems from tractors in Cheshire, after DNA evidence linked him to the theft of the GPS systems worth over £30,000.

NaVCIS officers recovered a stolen JCB Fastrac from a property in Norfolk. The machine had been cloned, and was originally stolen from a local farm in 2020.

A CITS-trained intelligence officer recently recovered a twin axle Ifor Williams trailer, that had been stolen earlier that day from Warwickshire.

NaVCIS officers assisted CanTrack yesterday (28.02.22) with the recovery of a stolen JCB Telehandler. The £80,000 machine belonging to Sunbelt Rentals, had been stolen in Nottinghamshire and transported overseas.

On February 25th, NaVCIS officers recovered a £30,000 Caterpillar Telehandler from a property in Leicestershire.

NaVCIS officers assisted local police using a search warrant at an address in Chingford, London. The search resulted in the recovery of a number of stolen items.

NaVCIS assisted Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Police today (Jan 28th) in an operation against an Organised Criminal Gang (OCG), who had been targeting farm properties. After months of dedicated police work, a number of properties in both counties were searched.

On the 11th January CITS were informed that a Vauxhall Grandland vehicle belonging to a CITS member had been stolen in a knifepoint robbery in Royton.

Recently, TritonTrak helped recover a Wacker Neuson micro-excavator and Indespension trailer from a secure unit near Newcastle, Tyne and Wear.

CITS partners NaVCIS, working in conjunction with Nottingham Police, recovered a stolen Telehandler from South Yorkshire.

At the end of last year, Chief Executive of the Construction Equipment Association Rob Oliver, announced his retirement, not only from the CEA, after serving two decades, but, also as long standing CITS Board member and Treasurer. The CITS Board were especially saddened to see Rob retire, but are delighted to welcome the newly appointed CEA Chief Executive, Suneeta Johal, join the Board.