Rural crime and the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime: FOI Release

Information requested

1. In response to the recent reported rise in the cost of rural crime in Scotland, has the Scottish Government engaged with Police Scotland on this matter?

2. In response to the recent reported rise in the cost of rural crime in Scotland has the Scottish Government engaged with any of the other members of the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime? If so, could you please detail which members?

3. Does the Scottish Government believe any of the action set out in the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime needs altered, in response to the rise in the rural crime cost in Scotland?

Response

We are happy to answer your questions as follows:
1. Yes. Upon being made aware of the NFU Mutual publication to which you refer on 1 August 2024, the officials within the Scottish Government’s Police Division immediately sought further information from Police Scotland. Police Scotland highlighted that the increase in claims received by NFU Mutual from Scotland for the 2022/23 period can largely be attributed to a particular 'spike' during that period of farm machinery, GPS units and an increase in quad bike thefts. Other aspects of Agricultural machinery theft were down on previous years.

2. The Scottish Government is satisfied with the explanation provided by Police Scotland and has not sought further clarification from additional members within the Scottish Partnership Against Acquisitive Crime (SPARC). However, we are not complacent around the impact and scale of rural crime and continue to engage with SPARC through regular cross-membership meetings. No one in rural Scotland should be a victim of crime.

3. SPARC’s activity is led by Police Scotland’s operational decision-making with representation from other members and guided by intelligence from across the UK. As set out in the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012, Police Scotland is responsible for the policing of Scotland, and is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority for this, rather than to Scottish Ministers directly. These arrangements are in place to ensure public confidence that the police act independently, free from unwarranted Ministerial interference. As stated above, we will continue to engage with SPARC membership and activity, including the continued expansion of the local partnerships against Crime (LPARCS) across Scotland. These partnerships share intelligence on organised crime groups operating across borders, providing specific ‘target hardening’ information to the rural and farming community on how to best secure and prevent theft of equipment. They also demonstrate crime prevention measures in relation to the marking, tracking and securing of farm machinery and tools, including in the highest impacted areas.

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