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From its claims statistics, NFU Mutual estimates that rural theft cost the UK £43.3m in 2020, a 20% decrease on the previous year.

While the number of theft claims went down, thieves got more bang for their buck as the average cost rose to £4,425 – up from £4,128 in 2019.

Lockdown movement restrictions, police rural crime teams, and beefed-up farm security helped to curb crime over the pandemic, with most parts of the UK seeing an overall decrease in cost.

However, skilled and highly-organised criminals continued to plague farmyards during the pandemic, stealing tractor GPS systems, high value quad bikes and ATVs worth millions of pounds.

Tractor Global Positioning Systems (GPS) have become the rural thieves’ top target. Gangs dubbed ‘Rural Wraiths’ are now using silent electric scooters to steal farmers’ £10,000 systems and make off along country lanes at high speed. Without GPS systems – an essential part of modern farming – harvests can be delayed and farmers are left unable to work.

The cost of agricultural vehicle theft claims reported to NFU Mutual remained high at £9.1m as gangs capitalised on the countryside.

Agricultural vehicle theft saw only a 2% drop in cost from 2019, still well above 2018’s total of £7.4m.

While livestock theft decreased by 25% to an estimated £2.3m, the South West region saw the cost of rustling rise by over a third.

Rebecca Davidson Rural Affairs Specialist said:"NFU Mutual research found that 45% of our customers experienced stress and anxiety in 2020. The threat of becoming a victim of rural crime can add to feelings of vulnerability and isolation, so it’s important we work together to support each other in the fight against rural crime.

Key Points 

• GPS THEFT COST £2.9M almost twice last year’s figure
• QUAD AND ATV THEFT COST £2.5M a decrease of nearly 18%, returning to 2018 levels
• AGRICULTURAL VEHICLE THEFT COST £9.1M a 2% reduction in cost, and an 8% reduction in claims
• LIVESTOCK THEFT COST £2.3M a reduction of 25%, but up by over a third in the South West 

The full report can be read below:-

https://www.nfumutual.co.uk/globalassets/farming/rural-crime/2021/rural-crime-report-2021.pdf