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The latest 2024 Rural Crime Survey from the Countryside Alliance has highlighted worrying numbers of rural crimes not being reported to the police.
Rural crime in the UK is continuously evolving with livestock rustling along with specialist machinery theft, fly-tipping and fuel robbery impacting many rural communities and farms. The most reliable sources of information on rural crime include:
- Defra/ONS Rural Crime Statistics - last published in June 2022
- NFU Mutual Rural Crime Report 2025
- Countryside Alliance 2024 Survey - published in March 2025.
While both the Defra/ ONS report and the NFU Mutual rural crime report both provide useful, accurate data covering the cost impact and nature of rural crime, the Countryside Alliance Survey presents genuine, first hand experiences of those affected by rural crime.
Unreported Rural Crime Incidents
Underreporting is described as a major issue for rural crime. The latest Countryside Alliance survey states that 32% of incidents, reported by survey respondents, were never reported to the police. But its worth being aware that while around 1 in 3 rural crimes go unreported the Crime Survey for England and Wales estimates that around 60% of all crimes are not reported to the police.
Theft related crimes, including shoplifting and bicycle theft, have very low reporting rates with only around 30-35% being reported to police forces. And even violent crimes are only reported in around 50% of cases. Cybercrime and fraud incidents are indicated to be the least likely to be reported with as many as 80-85% of crimes never being alerted to the police.
Why are People Reluctant to Report Crimes?
There are many reasons why people are reluctant to report crimes to the police.
A significant proportion (35%) of crimes go unreported because victims think the crime is too trivial to bother the police. Around 34% even think the police would be uninterested and unlikely to take any action. This is reinforced by the Countryside Alliance Rural Crime survey in which 51% or respondents stated it would be a waste of time or pointless to report certain crimes to the police. 40% stated they thought police could not have done anything about the crime, which is why they didn’t submit a report.
Sadly, 48% of rural survey participants, who did report crime incidents to the police, were not satisfied with the police response. Just 6% of respondents affected by crime stated they were ‘very satisfied’ with the police response and 17% indicated they were ‘satisfied’.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales has reported that 52% of crime victims were satisfied with the police response, but this percentage is notably lower than the 56% recorded in the preceding survey. The most recent survey highlighted how 30% of victims expressed dissatisfaction, up from 26% recorded pre-pandemic.
In rural districts, where crime rates are notably lower than towns and cities, local police forces tend to attract higher levels of public confidence. But despite higher levels of satisfaction with the police, farmers have reported frustration over slow police responses to livestock theft.
Rural Crime Prompting Residents to Consider Moving
The latest survey assessment from the Countryside Alliance has described how as many as one in five rural survey participants have considered leaving the area where they live, due to crime anxieties. An overwhelming majority of respondents (96%) stated that crime is a significant issue in their region and 45% believe the police do not take rural crime seriously.
Around 40% of those who took part in the survey indicated they had personally experienced rural crime in the past year, 48% said they felt intimidated by criminals or criminal activity and 18% had apparently considered moving away.
Police Forces Working Hard to Raise Public Confidence
The Police Uplift Programme has successfully recruited over 20,000 new police officers, exceeding the original target. But some police forces are experiencing financial challenges that are likely to impact ongoing recruitment and officer numbers.
A key pledge by the current government is to increase the number of visible foot patrols in all busy neighbourhoods and by July 2025 all communities should have named, contactable neighbourhood police officers and a guaranteed response within 72 hours.
Most UK police forces now offer easily accessible online crime reporting portals. They also offer live chat facilities along with web form submissions for non emergencies. And some police forces with significantly large rural areas (e.g. North Yorkshire, Devon and Cornwall) are now providing 24/7 rural crime hotlines.
Specialist rural crime teams are busily engaging with local communities by carrying out farm checks to provide security advice and guidance. And farm watch schemes are enabling farmers to report crimes directly to rural officers.
An important message to anyone affected or aware of rural crime is to always report it, even if the incident is considered trivial or unimportant. Police forces are clearly intent on doing all they possibly can to support rural communities in combating crime and this is best achieved through communication and mutual support.
Rural Crime Trends
The NFU mutual crime report for 2024 shows that rural crime in the UK cost an estimated £44.1 million, down from £52.8 million in the previous year. While this decline may appear to be encouraging there are notable regional variations.
Wales, for example, has suffered a year on year rural crime cost increase of 18% to £2.8 million. And while the cost of rural crime in the Midlands region declined by 31%, in 2024 it increased in Warwickshire by 14.4% to £1.4 million.
No specific reason for these regional variations has been determined but it is thought that it could be the result of increases in organised crime. These crime gangs will typically target several farms in specific regions, skewing the crime figures in those areas.
Quad bikes and ATVs are still amongst the top targets for crime gangs. And tractors along with trailers have also attracted a lot of criminal attention. Stolen tractors might be broken down and sold as parts, often into overseas illegal markets.
Livestock theft, or rustling, continues to be a significant challenge for farmers throughout the UK. Organised crime gangs are committing increasingly brazen, large-scale, carefully planned attacks. They sometimes target high value breeds or pedigree animals, carrying out their raids during the night using trailers and quads to quickly move the stolen animals. They sometimes swiftly transport the stolen livestock to other regions or countries where they are far less likely to be identified.
In March 2024 thieves cut through security locks at a farm near Llanidloes in Wales and stole 200 sheep using a large livestock trailer. In February 2024 50 valuable, pedigree Texel sheep, worth an estimated £30,000, were stolen from a farm near Northallerton. In April 2024 18 Limousin calves were stolen from a herd near Spalding. And in January 2024 120 ewes and lambs were stolen near Kelso and were believed to have been quickly transported to Northern England for illegal slaughter. In Devon, 30 rare heritage breed Bagot goats were stolen from a conservation farm in May 2024. It is thought these were taken specifically for private collectors or breeding.
Fly-tipping is another rural crime that is a continuing and escalating challenge throughout the UK. In England, local authorities dealt with 1.15 million fly-tipping incidents in 2023/24, an increase of 6% from 1.08 million in the previous year. Over the past five years incidents have escalated by 20% from 957,000 in 2018/19 to the current level. The cost to tax payers in dealing with these incidents is estimated to be around £14 million.
Over 60% of reported fly-tipping incidents involve household waste including sofas, mattresses and other items of furniture. Around 31% of cases involve small van loads of rubbish while around 28% are car boot sized amounts of household detritus. Large scale dumping of waste, involving tipper sized trucks, account for around 4% of fly-tipping incidents, but this category escalated by 11% year on year.
Surprisingly, around 23% of Gen Z didn’t know that fly-tipping is illegal and unfortunately only 36% of people who witness fly-tipping actually report the crime. Farm properties are often targeted by fly-tippers as field gateways and lanes in rural locations are rarely monitored. This presents hard working farmers with the challenge of getting rubbish safely removed to restore access to their property. If you ever witness fly-tipping or spot rubbish that has been illegally dumped, always report it to the police and local authorities.
Stolen Artworks
Farm livestock, machinery and fuel are all clearly at risk of theft by well organised crime gangs who know what’s in demand and what they can readily sell-on. But there have also been a number of valuable sculptures stolen from various properties.
A bronze sculpture, estimated to be worth around £60,000, was stolen from a home in Saffron Waldon, Essex while the property owner and artist was attending a funeral. The thief clearly knew what they were after as the garden contained around 15 to 20 sculptures that were primarily made from resin which were left untouched. It is thought the perpetrators had previously identified which sculpture was made from valuable bronze. The victim was disappointed and upset by the lack of police progress in the investigation and for taking three weeks to visit her property after the theft.
The owners of a manor property near Bradford on Avon suffered the loss of four iconic bronze statues from their grounds overnight. One of these wonderful statues had stood in the garden for over 120 years. Police investigations are ongoing.
In StoneHill, Sellindge four large bronze statues, worth around £12,000, were stolen from a pub garden. The property owners are mystified by the theft as the premises are secured with an electric gate and there was no damage to the boundary wall or footprints in the garden.
Its clear that although the overall cost of rural theft has decreased, year on year, impactful crimes persist due to increasingly organised criminals targeting valuable items.
What People are Doing to Combat Rural Crime
There have been some beneficial legislative changes to help combat the plague of rural crime including the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 which received Royal Assent in July 2023. This legislation introduces a new legal framework designed to deter the theft and resale of valuable agricultural and trades equipment, especially ATVs, quad bikes, and other off-road vehicles. It also provides scope to extend legal protection to tools and essential machinery used in farming.
Rural communities and enterprises have been taking matters into their own hands by paying attention to beneficial security precautions. 50% of those who responded to the recent Countryside Alliance survey described how they had installed crime prevention security measures at their properties over the past year. Security measures include the installation of security lighting, ensuring all vehicles are locked and keys are secured somewhere safe along with the deployment of CCTV security cameras.
Mobile, solar powered CCTV towers, for example, have been beneficially used to protect vulnerable, remote areas that don’t have mains electricity or internet connectivity. At a property in Fife these systems, situated at primary yard entrances, meant that no further thefts were experienced, saving money and providing peace of mind.
In another location in Kent the local council installed AI powered CCTV, with licence plate recognition, at a rural hotspot for fly-tipping. This resulted in 5 prosecutions over 3 months and fly-tipping in the area decreased by 75%.
When thieves attempted to steal a valuable tractor from a farm in Spalding they were unaware that the vehicle was protected by CESAR (construction and agricultural equipment security and registration) marking along with a GPS tracker. Police successfully tracked the stolen vehicle, recovering it in under two hours and arresting 3 suspects.
A crime gang in Conwy, North Wales, attempted to steal 50 sheep at night. They initially didn’t know the livestock had been sprayed with SmartWater and the farm had UV marking material on the gates. When they spotted warning signage, about forensic DNA marking, they abandoned their rustling attempt.
In 2023, some Norfolk farmers, troubled by rampant hare coursing on their land, teamed up with police to deploy thermal drones at night. The drones successfully tracked poacher’s vehicles leading to 8 arrests and a number of seized dogs. Reports of poaching in the area fell by 40%.
In Aberdeenshire a gang was stealing red diesel from farms. Farmers added unique chemical markers to their red diesel fuel tanks enabling the stolen fuel to be traced to a storage yard, resulting in 4 arrests. The arrested gang were supplying stolen fuel to construction sites.
In the Yorkshire Dales a Farm Watch Whatsapp group sent alerts to over 200 members who were then able to share valuable dashcam footage. Police were able to use collected information to identify a stolen van, enabling them to arrest the thieves before they targeted valuable farm machinery. The crime gang was linked to 12 thefts across the countryside.
Assess Your Security Precautions
All rural businesses, farms and residents are advised to routinely review their security precautions. It is always worthwhile ensuring perimeters are secure, locks are robust, working and always locked. Vehicles, ATVs and quad bikes should be securely locked out of sight and chained to immovable anchor points. High security chains and padlocks should be used where needed and anything that might be stolen should be security labelled. Fuel storage containers should be secured inside locked cages and it makes sense to join or establish local farm watch schemes to help one another stay ahead of organised crime gangs.
If you have any questions about rural security, or if you have any special requirements, remember we are here to help. Give us a call on 01273 092624 and we’ll provide you with free, expert advice.
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