A POLICE training day is being held at NFU Mutual’s headquarters in Stratford in a bid to tackle rising farm machinery thefts.
Police forces from across the Midlands will descend on the head office in Tiddington on Wednesday (June 5) for the event hosted by the National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team.
Latest figures from NFU Mutual reveal the estimated cost of rural crime in the Midlands shot up 30.1 per cent to £11 million in 2022.
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.
Ms Hyslop 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 per cent to £11 million 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.”
For more information on rural crime trends and advice visit www.nfumutual.co.uk/ruralcrime
