Industry Report Agriculture Crime Report

Figure 1: Cost of Rural Crime in the UK as Reported by NFUMutual, 2010-2018 (Source: NFUMutual) In an attempt to deter criminals from targeting their property, farmers across the UK are increasingly turning towards various crime prevention methods to protect their farms 6 . However, not all farmers are adopting crime prevention 7 , and where they are using these methods, it is often the case that these measures are inadequate and ineffective for the individual farms 8 . It is suggested that a different approach may be available to farmers thinking about how they can best protect their farm. By enabling farmers to think differently about their farm and the crime prevention options available to them, farms may become a less attractive target to criminals. The key approach suggested by this research is the potential application of concepts fromBS as an alternative to traditional policy tackling farm crime, and to enable farmers to be in a position to make effective and appropriate FCP decisions. Several benefits could be realised for farmers by enabling the choice of the most effective crime prevention measure(s) for their own individual farms. The possibility of using these approaches within this field could provide a step change in how farmers protect their property, and therefore, in the longer term, potentially improve the profitability of the farm. To establish whether BS can be recommended in FCP decision-making, one first must establish the underlying thoughts, feelings, and attitudes of the farmers. This research explores the factors that influence the attitudes and beliefs of farmers around crime prevention measures on farms, levels of victimisation and repeat victimisation among the farming community, and attitudes towards the police in E&W. Such understanding enables a discussion around the role of BS in FCP decision-making in light of the relative failure of other methods aimed at improving the uptake of crime prevention. 6 Mears, D.P., Scott, M.L., Bhati, A.S. 2007. A Process and Impact Evaluation of the Agricultural Crime, Technology, Information, and Operations Network (ACTION) Program. Washington DC: The Urban Institute 7 Yarwood, R. and Edwards, W. 1995. Voluntary action in rural areas: The case of neighbourhood watch. Journal of Rural Studies, 11(4), pp. 447-460. DOI: 10.1016/0743-0167(95)00030-5. 8 McCall, M. & Homel, P. 2003. http://www.aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/tandi2/tandi268.pdf Cost of Rural Crime (£millions) NFUMutual Report Data 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2 Industry Report - FarmCrime