Farmers warned following surge in tractor GPS thefts

Fears are now mounting over the scale of the problem, as it is believed criminal gangs are working their way across the country after farms in the Midlands, including Staffordshire, were targeted.

National issue

Branding the crime a ‘national issue’, Ms Davidson highlighted Covid-19 had triggered a spike in high-value but smaller, portable items.

“This trend is deeply worrying for farmers who are investing in hi-tech equipment to make their farms more efficient and reduce pollution,” she added.

In an effort to crack down on the issue, Ms Davidson said farmers had been removing the GPS kit from tractors when not in use and storing them securely.

DC Chris Piggot, rural vehicle crime officer at the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NAVCIS) claimed the systems were being sold on through the black market, with many of them destined for Eastern European countries where they cannot be easily traced.

Prevention

DC Piggot has urged farmers to overtly mark up GPS kits ‘indelibly’ with a single identifying colour or postcode, in order to make their resale unattractive to thieves.

He added: “We would also encourage owners of Starfire 6000 systems to enable the pin code and render them useless to criminals.”