The cost of rural theft increased by 52% in Norfolk in 2022, making it one of the top 10 worst affected counties in the UK along with Cambridgeshire and Essex, reveal latest figures by leading rural insurer NFU Mutual. This has prompted an online event hosted by Agri-TechE on 12th October to look at new approaches to improving security.

NFU Mutual’s Rural Crime Report 2023 found that quad bikes and All-Terrain Vehicles are particularly vulnerable to theft. A global shortage of chips and components is also heightening demand for stolen goods, with criminals even using lightweight drones to target rural businesses.

Charlie Yorke, Farm Insurance Specialist at NFU Mutual, comments that while measures to improve physical security – locking gates, removing keys from vehicles, and storing them securely, marking livestock and property, keeping records of serial and chassis numbers – are all recommended, there are also technology options available to deter criminals.

“There is no silver bullet solution but fitting tracking devices and immobilisers, both physical and electronic, together with forensic marking has been shown to be effective,” he says.

For example, the industry-recognised triangular CESAR mark has made it easier to identify stolen equipment, doubling the chances of return and some insurers, such as NFU Mutual, extend policy discounts to those who employ CESAR marking on their vehicles. The technology includes transponder tags the size of a grain of rice that contain a unique code number that cannot be altered or deleted.

Charlie is one of the speakers at an online Agri-TechE event on Thursday 12^th October, ‘Agri-Tech to reduce rural crime’, held in partnership with The AF Group (AF) and Norfolk County Council. It will offer an overview of the technology currently available to farmers and a look to the future.

Louis Clabburn, Head of Member Services at AF, says that the event is timely, with the National Crime Unit reporting a 300 per cent increase in machinery thefts in the first quarter of 2023. He says: “We would encourage all farms and rural businesses to regularly assess their security measures to ensure they are protecting their vital business assets.”

Remote monitoring through the ‘Internet of Things’ could be the key to improved security. Norfolk County Council supports the Norfolk and Suffolk Innovation Network, the UK’s largest free-to-use public sector long range wide area network (LoRaWAN). This will facilitate the roll-out of emerging tech such as: tracking devices for livestock that can alert the farmer to rapid movements resulting from theft or dog attacks; remote tank monitors for fuel, liquid chemicals or fertiliser; and sensors for farm gates.

As well as Charlie Yorke, the event will include presentations from: Giles Orpen-Smellie, Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk; Ben Turner, Director & Dealer Principal for Ben Burgess; Keith Franklin, IT Consultant at RuralTech LLP; and industry case studies.

More information about the free online Agri-TechE event ‘Protect, Prevent and Retrieve: Agri-Tech to Reduce Rural Crime’, which takes place from 17:00 – 18:30 on Thursday 12th October, is available at agri-tech-e.co.uk/events/.