Guide
How to Prevent Agricultural Theft
Base on data from claims, rural crime cost the United Kingdom a whopping £44.5 million last year, an increase of around 13.4% of the previous year. This is the fastest rate of growth of rural crime since 2010 and is now becoming an easy money-making opportunity for organised gangs.
Words by: Auto Trader
Published on 7 June 2019 | 0 min read
This is why it’s becoming so important to take countermeasures in order to prevent agricultural theft and in this article, we’re going to offer a list of useful tips to help you protect your vehicles.
General Vehicle Advice
There are a couple of general tips that everyone should follow in order to keep their vehicles safe and to prevent theft.
- Always store your agricultural vehicles in a lockable and safe building or garage.
- Install security features such as motion lighting and cameras to help deter and follow-up on instances of theft.
- Ensure that you keep recordings and pictures of license plates and people involved in the theft of your vehicles.
- Be wary of crime in your area.
- Make sure that vehicles you buy and sell are with genuine people.
Keeping All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) Safe
All-terrain vehicle such as ATVs and quad bikes are high-value targets for theft because they are easy to steal and sell than agricultural vehicles. As a result, it’s important to put a heavier emphasis on safeguarding these smaller vehicles.
We would recommend investing in a quality chain and padlock to secure your vehicle to a building or post. However, it’s important to note that most thieves will have cutting tools that can easily break even the toughest locks, so it’s only a good deterrent for small-time thieves and also to buy you some time should your property be invaded by thieves. Never leave your keys lying around so to give thieves easy access to your vehicle and make sure your vehicle is stored in a secure environment with locks so that it’s not in clear view of thieves which could increase the risk of it being stolen. If you have to store the vehicle outside, then make sure it is covered with a tarp to both protect it from the elements and hide it from would-be thieves.
We would recommend investing in a quality chain and padlock to secure your vehicle to a building or post. However, it’s important to note that most thieves will have cutting tools that can easily break even the toughest locks, so it’s only a good deterrent for small-time thieves and also to buy you some time should your property be invaded by thieves. Never leave your keys lying around so to give thieves easy access to your vehicle and make sure your vehicle is stored in a secure environment with locks so that it’s not in clear view of thieves which could increase the risk of it being stolen. If you have to store the vehicle outside, then make sure it is covered with a tarp to both protect it from the elements and hide it from would-be thieves.
Preventing Fuel Theft
Unfortunately, fuel is a common target for thieves because it can be easily syphoned from your vehicles and transported off the premises without making much noise. The best solution is to install an anti-syphon device on all of your vehicles and protect your fuel with alarms that sound when the fuel levels drop.
Fuel tanks should be stored within buildings that are protected with locks or cages and security equipment such as alarms should be used to deter thieves. Fuel theft is very common in rural areas and the most effective method to avoid it is to prevent it from happening in the first place instead of attempting to catch the thieves with security cameras and reporting it to the police.
Fuel tanks should be stored within buildings that are protected with locks or cages and security equipment such as alarms should be used to deter thieves. Fuel theft is very common in rural areas and the most effective method to avoid it is to prevent it from happening in the first place instead of attempting to catch the thieves with security cameras and reporting it to the police.
Avoid Your Tractors Getting In The Wrong Hands
These are large and expensive vehicles which are targets for most rural thieves. Rural thieves understand the value of vintage tractor models as well so it’s vital that you protect all of your tractors. They may even dismantle your tractor to remove certain modules and equipment from your vehicle especially if they’re unable to get away with the entire tractor.
To prevent this, make you invest in security marking solutions such as SmartWater and sign up to registration schemes like CESAR which can help increase the chances of you recovering your stolen equipment. Thieves will commonly modify stolen vehicles in order to remove any traces of their previous owner, but if you can etch the vehicle identification number onto surfaces such as the windows, it makes the vehicle less desirable to steal because it takes more work to remove traces of the previous owner.
To prevent this, make you invest in security marking solutions such as SmartWater and sign up to registration schemes like CESAR which can help increase the chances of you recovering your stolen equipment. Thieves will commonly modify stolen vehicles in order to remove any traces of their previous owner, but if you can etch the vehicle identification number onto surfaces such as the windows, it makes the vehicle less desirable to steal because it takes more work to remove traces of the previous owner.
Thwart Trailer and Horseboxe Thefts
These are large and expensive vehicles which are targets for most rural thieves. Rural thieves understand the value of vintage tractor models as well so it’s vital that you protect all of your tractors. They may even dismantle your tractor to remove certain modules and equipment from your vehicle especially if they’re unable to get away with the entire tractor.
To prevent this, make you invest in security marking solutions such as SmartWater and sign up to registration schemes like CESAR which can help increase the chances of you recovering your stolen equipment. Thieves will commonly modify stolen vehicles in order to remove any traces of their previous owner, but if you can etch the vehicle identification number onto surfaces such as the windows, it makes the vehicle less desirable to steal because it takes more work to remove traces of the previous owner.
To prevent this, make you invest in security marking solutions such as SmartWater and sign up to registration schemes like CESAR which can help increase the chances of you recovering your stolen equipment. Thieves will commonly modify stolen vehicles in order to remove any traces of their previous owner, but if you can etch the vehicle identification number onto surfaces such as the windows, it makes the vehicle less desirable to steal because it takes more work to remove traces of the previous owner.