'Nothing is safe anymore!' Shropshire facing 'unprecedented' levels of rural crime

Shropshire Star

Shropshire is seeing 'unprecedented levels' of rural crime with farmers admitting 'nothing is safe anymore'. Agricultural workers turned out in force to share their concerns with police at a rural crime event organised by NFU Mutual at Bridgnorth Livestock Market.  Farmers said they are being targeted day and night, on a daily basis, with thefts of tools, machinery – anything from quad bikes to tractors – and fuel. Flytipping, vandalism and livestock theft are other crimes having a devastating impact on farmers and their livelihoods.

Transcript

00:00 So I'm Jodie Swinton, I'm an agent for the NFU Mutual based out of the British North Office.

00:05 I'm Hannah, same job, I've been in the job for 15 years and we sell insurance to farmers but also look after their claims when items are stolen as well.

00:16 So yes, tell us a little bit about today's event which was a very well turned, a big turnout for it.

00:22 Yes, so we ran our second rural crime event today, really really well attended by lots of the rural community, not just farmers.

00:30 In attendance we had Maurice Caulfield, Chandler's Farm and Garden Machinery, ATV Track and Data Tag as well,

00:39 along with ANS Security, a camera company, to try and bring together everybody that we think can help our customers combat this big problem that we currently have.

00:50 Yes, given the turnout it suggests that rural crime is a real problem in Shropshire at the moment.

00:56 Yes, absolutely. This isn't a one-off situation. Farms are being targeted unfortunately on a daily basis, it's not just of an evening.

01:04 There are suspicious vehicles in farm yards every day unfortunately.

01:09 Obviously we all need to work together to make sure that this problem is sorted as quickly as possible which is why we've held the event today.

01:16 Shropshire has got such a huge number of farmers in the county and I think that's why it's been targeted.

01:22 It's a rural location and it's a really big issue for us around here.

01:26 What are some of the messages you're getting from farmers at the moment?

01:29 So, I mean it's across the board, you know, when they're not targeting one item of machinery,

01:34 they can be taking anything from chainsaws and strimmers and quad bikes right through to actual tractors as well and loaders.

01:42 The farmers are looking for support. They can only do so much in terms of putting in CCTV equipment and trackers on vehicles.

01:50 So, the point of today was to actually get all of these individuals as well as the police in a room to be able to come up with a plan as to how we can stop this.

01:58 I guess that kind of collaboration is sort of the key really to move it forward.

02:03 It's trying to get the whole community to come together and work together as one unit really and make sure people know they're not alone in this problem.

02:11 Unfortunately, they're all fully aware that it is a growing problem and I think Shropshire is definitely one of the hardest hit counties really nationally.

02:18 The turnout today suggests that, you know, rural crime is becoming more and more of a problem in Shropshire. Would you see that as the case?

02:27 It's really important to have events like this and as you alluded to then, the turnout was really good.

02:34 We did a similar event last year and I think we had a little bit more members this time around coming round, which is really good.

02:41 It shows that the rural and farming community are all talking and are aware of these issues and by getting everyone together,

02:48 it's shared experiences of good and best practice that people can do to protect themselves really.

02:54 So, I think these events are really, really important.

02:57 What are the main sort of crimes that are being reported to you at the moment?

03:01 So, we're seeing quite a lot of agricultural vehicle theft, so your quad bikes, in some instances some tractors are going,

03:10 which are obviously huge vehicles to steal, but these offenders are managing to do that.

03:18 We're also seeing lots of smaller tools, so your leaf blowers, your chainsaws, items like that are also being stolen as well.

03:28 In terms of what farmers can do to help you as police to tackle these issues, are there any key points that you would say?

03:38 So, it's being really hot on your own security, on your own property, so it's simple things like making sure vehicles are locked,

03:47 taking keys out of vehicles, unfortunately in the past people could leave their keys in their vehicles and it not get stolen,

03:56 but however as times have changed, that's just simply not a possibility, you can't do that anymore.

04:02 So, making sure vehicles are locked and secure for quad bikes and tractors,

04:09 looking at getting trackers infitted for those vehicles, because if a vehicle has got a tracker on it,

04:15 we are finding a lot of vehicles that way, so we're able to return them back.

04:20 It's getting things like CCTV, alarm systems on your property, I know they come at a price,

04:26 however you've got to look at the bigger picture, what's protecting your property at the end of the day,

04:32 so spending some money on some security items could protect your property.

04:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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