A CITS-organised police training day, highlighting the latest rural crime trends took place on November 21st in Scotland, at Lanark Auction House.
The event, which was opened by Supt. Andrew Huddleston from Northumbria Police provided over 70 Police Scotland officers with opportunities to learn about the latest crime trends and security measures and included presentations from security experts, including DC Chris Piggott, the UK’s international police liaison officer, Bob Henderson, Head of Engineering at NFU Mutual and representatives from the CESAR Scheme, the official Home Office machinery marking system.
The event was also supported by GAP Group, Hitachi, The Clancy Group, J Murphy & Sons, leading rural insurer NFU Mutual, which provides financial support and expertise to Scotland Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC) initiative and practical demonstrations from the National Construction and Agricultural Theft Team (NCATT).
NFU Mutual’s latest Rural Crime Report revealed that rural crime cost Scotland £1.4m last year, a fall of 48% from 2021. However, the fall came after Scotland was hard hit by thieves in 2021, with the cost of rural crime in the country rocketing 52.3% to £2.6m.
Bob Henderson, Head of Engineering at NFU Mutual said: “Rural crime is costly and highly distressing for farmers so we’re delighted to be supporting this training event.”
“The cost of rural crime in Scotland fell in 2022 – probably due to the SPARC initiative which we help fund. However, the cost of farm theft shot up in the rest of the UK and we need to keep up to date on the latest trends and security systems to keep determined organised criminal gangs at bay”.
Ian Elliott, Group Head of Security at the Clancy Group and CITS Chairman commented; It is really important to create partnerships with Police and highlight the issues our industry faces in these tough times. All too often we hear people being critical of the police with regards to theft from both farms and construction sites. I can assure you that after speaking to these officers nothing is further from the truth. The enthusiasm the officers have shown is so refreshing. The support we have had from Gap Group, NFU Mutual, Hitachi Machinery and the CESAR team has been outstanding and we hope days like this will make a real difference.”
Iain Anderson, joint MD at GAP Group commented that engagement by the officers in attendance was excellent. To help identify equipment that could have been stolen, DC Chris Piggott pointed out what to look for, such as, missing number plates, serial numbers not having 17 digits and many more pointers. Great training for the officers in attendance, which will help recover more stolen equipment.
The feedback CITS has received from the officers who attended the event has been excellent.
CITS is an industry forum comprising representatives from the Home Office, Police, Insurers, and Industry, will continue to host a series of further events in 2024. Officers should register their interest in future events, with faye@cits.uk.com
