PSNI - agricultural crime

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has been working with communities and our partners to tackle the concerning issue of agricultural crime in our rural areas.

Some of the resources now have available to support local groups are:

• New advice materials have been produced (see attached leaflet PDF) which may be of help in your community.
• A farm security checklist has been compiled (click here to download). A local Crime Prevention Officer can assist individuals with using this.
• Events such as trailer marking and farm security days are being held in a number of Districts. 

A local Crime Prevention Officer may be available to speak to your group with advice about simple but effective crime prevention measures.
 
To request a printed copy of the leaflet or farm security checklist, ask about events in your area or ask for a Crime Prevention Officer to help your group or help with your premises, please contact 0845 600 8000.
 
Tackling crime against the rural community is a major priority for police.  We understand the effect these crimes have on communities and the grave impact they can have on farmers’ livelihoods. Agriculture crime accounted for 4% of all crime during 2011 and the Police Service of Northern Ireland has a service-wide Control Strategy to deal with this important issue.

Some of the work being carried out by police against agricultural crime includes:

•  Carrying out theft prevention events in every rural District in Northern Ireland.
• Supporting a number of farm shows with new materials and display vehicles to spread the message of basic crime prevention, such as usage of CESAR and Tracker technologiesto help prevent thefts of plant and trailers.
• Supporting other agencies, such as Crimestoppers, in metal theft awareness and appeal campaigns.
• Emphasising the impact of metal and cable theft internally and working with utility companies and scrap metal dealers to make metal harder to steal and harder to sell.
• Meeting with representatives of the major insurance companies to discuss areas of concerns and ways of working together to reduce theft incidents, including farm thefts and metal thefts.
• Appointing a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) in each Area Command Unit. 

Police will continue to work with our partners in agriculture to find ways to reduce thefts and appreciate your support with increasing awareness of the need for basic crime prevention measures to help prevent thefts. 

For more information contact
Conor Johnston
Deputy Head of Crime Prevention
Police Service of Northern Ireland
Lisnasharragh
www.psni.police.uk