NFU MUTUAL HOSTS POLICE TRAINING DAY TO TACKLE RISING FARM MACHINERY THEFT
- 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
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.
Held at NFU Mutual’s head office in Tiddington, Warwickshire, the event will be hosted by the National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team (NCATT), partially funded by NFU Mutual, and supported by security specialist companies.
The event is being organised by the Combined Industries Theft Solutions forum (CITS), an organisation dedicated to reducing the effects of crime on farming communities and the construction industry.
The training day will provide police officers, PCSOs and staff involved in rural crime detection and prevention with opportunities to learn about the latest crime trends and security measures.
Rural crime experts including Kirsty Hyslop, Vehicle Crime Specialist at NFU Mutual, and Detective Sergeant Chris Piggott, from the NCATT, will cover current threats and latest techniques to protect farm machinery and bring criminals to justice.
There will also be practical demonstrations of security systems being developed to protect expensive farm equipment from determined thieves. Organisations and companies taking part include NCATT, CESAR machinery marking systems, Hitachi, Clancy and Murphy.
Kirsty Hyslop, Vehicle Crime Specialist at NFU Mutual, said: “Rural crime is not only costly but highly disruptive and distressing for farmers and their families, so we’re delighted to be supporting this police training event.
“Our latest figures reveal the estimated cost of rural crime in the Midlands alarmingly shot up 30.1% to £11m in 2022.
“The cost of farm theft also increased in the rest of the UK so we need to keep up –to date on the latest trends and security systems to keep these determined criminals at bay.”
Ian Elliott, Chairman of CITS, said: “We’re holding this event to help police forces tackle the organised criminals gangs that are making theft a huge problem for farmers. CITS works with police, crime-fighting organisations and machinery manufacturers including Clancy’s, Hitachi and Leica to provide officers with the knowledge and detection techniques to combat rural crime.”
For more information on rural crime trends and advice, visit: www.nfumutual.co.uk/ruralcrime
