Cost of rural theft drops across the south coast
NFU Mutual has released its Rural Crime Report today (3 August)
Increased farm security during the coronavirus pandemic and rural policing all contributed to a fall in rural theft across Dorset, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and West Sussex.
That's according to a report by NFU Mutual which shows rural theft costs dropped by 21% in West Sussex in 2020 and 18% in the East of the County.
It falls in line with the national picture, with NFU Mutual's Rural Crime Report showing the cost of rural theft across the UK fell by over 20% down to £43.3 million last year.
Meanwhile the rural insurer has revealed insurance claims for GPS systems nearly doubled last year.
Gangs are said to be using e-scooters to sneak onto farms and steal the devices, insurance claims for which rose up to £2.9 million in 2020, compared to £1.5 million the year before.
DC Chris Piggott, from the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service, a police unit funded by businesses, said:
"Rural thieves are becoming more and more sophisticated to get round high levels of security on modern farm machinery.
"The pattern we are increasingly seeing is of gangs who patiently watch farms from a distance to discover where expensive tractor GPS kit is stored.
"They generally return at night to steal and are now using silent electric scooters to get into farmyards undetected and make off at high speed.
"Thieves are also becoming even slicker stealing quad bikes - watching for hours to rush into farm yards and steal them when they are left unattended for a few minutes.''
Overall the South East's drop of 19% to £7.1 million is one of the smaller changes, compared to other regions across the country.
While the pandemic has been named as a reason behind the fall in rural crime cost, it's also being blamed for a rise in dog attacks on farm animals.
Pet ownership increasing during the last 18 months has been named as a big reason behind the increase in attacks.
Rebecca Davidson, rural affairs specialist at NFU Mutual, said farmers and their families have been left with "huge anxiety" as they deal with the aftermath of attacks on their animals.