NFU Vice-president Robyn Munt said the new powers are a “welcome step in the right direction, providing some much-needed peace of mind for farming families impacted or worried about equipment theft”.
Currently, officers must apply to the courts for a warrant; the new powers will enable them to act immediately and enter a property.
Time is critical in cases of machinery theft and enabling police to act immediately when the location of stolen equipment is known should improve recovery rates, disrupt organised rural crime and provide farmers and growers with the much-needed confidence that these crimes are being taken seriously.
“Rural crime has unfortunately become an everyday reality for farmers and just something else they need to adapt and be resilient to.”
NFU Vice-president Robyn Munt
NFU Mutual's latest report on the cost of rural crime found that claims cost for agricultural vehicle thefts totalled £7 million in 2024.
Quad bikes and ATVs remained top targets for thieves in 2024, despite falling by 16% to an estimated £2.7m.
Crime an ‘every day reality’ for farmers
While the legislation also gives ministers greater powers to issue statutory guidance to councils in England on the enforcement of fly-tipping, the NFU has said it does not go far enough to address the undue burden waste crime places on farmers and growers.
Private landowners are currently left to bear the cost and responsibility of clearing illegally dumped waste, leaving victims to deal with the financial, emotional and logistical consequences of a crime they did not commit.
NFU Vice-president Robyn Munt added: “Farmers are nothing if not resilient. Every day we deal with pests and diseases, changing weather and volatile markets and yet every day we get up and produce food for our nation. But rural crime chips away at that resilience. It leaves farmers and growers scared to go to work, worried in their own homes and feeling powerless in the face of dangerous criminal activity.
“From equipment theft to hare coursing, waste crime to livestock worrying, rural crime has unfortunately become an everyday reality for farmers and just something else they need to adapt and be resilient to.
“The government must do more to address the unfair burden of clearing illegally dumped waste as well as ensure rural police forces and councils are properly resourced to implement new powers effectively, as enforcement without adequate funding risks limiting their impact on the ground.”
NFU Chief Land Management Adviser Sam Durham gave evidence to the Crime and Policing Bill Committee last year, covering the impact of rural crime.
Forensic markings for farming kit
Minister for Crime and Policing Sarah Jones said: “Theft causes real harm to real people, whether that’s a phone snatched from their hand or a farmer’s livelihood driven away in the night.
“These new powers will mean officers can act fast to recover more stolen property and reunite them with their owners.”
Last year, the Home Office committed to introducing regulations requiring all new ATVs and GPS units to have forensic markings and for the details to be registered on a property database. The NFU worked closely with Greg Smith, MP for Mid Buckinghamshire, and the National Rural Crime Unit on the Equipment Theft Act, which became law in 2023, giving the Home Secretary the power to make regulations that deter the theft and resale of quads and ATVs.
The NFU has expressed disappointment however, that this legislation will not cover fitting immobilisers to new ATVs and will not extend to other large agricultural machinery. We will continue to lobby for improved security for farm equipment.
