Yorkshire and North East farmers warned about rise in thefts of GPS as new crime trend hits rural areas

Criminal gangs could take advantage of the busy harvest period to steal expensive Global Positioning Systems (GPS) from tractors and combines NFU Mutual has warned.

Over the last few years, GPS systems have been one of the most frequently stolen items from farms because of their high value and portability with the insurer saying that the national cost of theft claims for GPS almost doubled in 2020 to £2.9m.

They cost around £10,000 are are being targeted by organised gangs who then sell them on around the world.

While during the past 18 months, a nationwide operation carried out by the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) has successfully cut the number of GPS thefts over the past year there are fears criminals could be planning to use the busy harvest period to get on to farms unseen to steal GPS equipment.

In recent weeks thefts have been taking place in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire and northern farmers have also been targeted in the past by GPS thieves who move around the country carrying out overnight raids.

“GPS is a vital tool on modern farms and thefts cause huge disruption as it can take days to source new equipment. With global food supplies under pressure, holding up harvest is the last thing farmers need. We are urging farmers to remove systems when they’re not in use and keep them securely.”

NFU Mutual has issued a security checklist with advice to activate PIN security on GPS kit with your own unique number if available; mark with your postcode to deter thieves and trace

your property back to you; keep tractors and combines with GPS fitted stored out of sight when possible; remove GPS kit when possible from tractors and other machinery and store it

securely when not in use; record serial numbers and photograph kit; check serial numbers of second-hand kit offered for sale; report sightings of suspicious activity in fields and farmyards to police.

The trend for taking GPS systems is another issue for the farming community to contend with. Earlier this year farms and rural areas were warned to be extra vigilant after an increase in the theft of quad bikes which coincided with lambing season and dog attacks on livestock, as well as an increase in thefts of oil from tanks which came in line with a huge spike in the cost of buying the fuel.