Scottish Farmer article on Farm Security

So in the face of rising rural crime levels, why aren’t more farmers trying to avoid becoming victims of crime rather than simply dealing with it after the event?

Over recent weeks and months, The Scottish Farmer has reported on cases of sheep rustling, ATV theft, fuel theft, and most recently, urged people to be extra vigilant now that the nights are at their darkest.

Reports are that many items are being ‘stolen to order’ and then turning up at machinery sales across the country, and thieves are resorting to some extreme methods, some even cutting holes in sheds and smashing padlocks.

All of these stories are backed up by the statistics. Back in the summer, NFU Mutual reported that the estimated cost of theft from Scotland’s farms in 2011 rose to £1.79m, an increase of 45% on 2010. Livestock rustling also rocketed, with the cost of claims increasing by 165% in 2011 to £250,000.

The areas worst hit are Ayrshire, Forth and Clyde, Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire, but even Tayside, which tends to report lower levels, saw 91 fuels thefts and 10 ATV thefts between October 2011 and March 2012.

NFU Mutual have identified hi-tech security measures as the most effective way to combat crime and NFU Scotland has also advised farmers to check their security measures.

One Tayside family can attest to the benefits of putting security measures in place, and here offer themselves, anonymously, as a case study.