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<p>The Home Office collects and publishes information on crime against business, including the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, as part of the Commercial Victimisation Survey. Such crimes will also form part of the published police recorded crime statistics. However, neither of these data sources provides detail on the specific items stolen from vehicles or the methods used in committing theft.</p><p>The Home Office has not made an assessment on the prevalence of the use of drones. However, we work closely with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) National Rural Crime unit and Opal, the national analysis unit for serious organised acquisitive crime, to understand the methods used by criminals to steal agricultural machinery.</p><p>The NPCC has established a new National Rural Crime Unit (NCRU) to support forces nationally in their responses to rural crime, such as the theft of farming or construction machinery, livestock theft, rural fly tipping, rural fuel theft and equine crime.</p><p>In June 2023 the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs launched the Unleashing Rural Opportunity, setting out four broad priorities that are key to rural communities being able to thrive. As part of this launch, it was announced that the Government will provide one-off funding for the NRCU. This funding will support work to cut crime and keep communities safe, by tackling anti-social behaviour and equipment theft.</p><p>DEFRA is also providing funding to the NRCU for a new role to tackle fly-tipping across Great Britain.</p> |