Costs

The cost of theft in rural areas in 1999 has been estimated by The National Farmers’ Union Mutual Insurance Association to be in the region of £168 million. Around three quarters of the total loss is attributed to the theft of more than 30,000 vehicles

NFU Mutual estimates that crime costs farmers more than £100 million per year with the theft of agricultural equipment running at around £90 million.

The National Plant & Equipment Register (TER) runs an international data base of owned and stolen equipment and employs specialist staff who work with law enforcement agencies to identify and recover stolen equipment. Amongst the most stolen items are tractors and agricultural machinery, trailers and caravans, quarry equipment and generators.

Link:The National Plant and Equipment Register

The Home Office has recently published a Research Study 217, The economic and social costs of crime. This study is designed to help partnerships develop a cost-benefit approach to crime reduction. This will be particularly beneficial to rural partnerships where the impact of what appears to be occasional and relatively minor crimes is not fully appreciated.

www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds