Kent is one of the worst counties in England it's something Kent's Police and Crime Commissioner says he's making a priority.
Oliver Leader De Saxe reports
Oliver Leader De Saxe reports
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00:00Heavy machinery, fertilizer, livestock.
00:04For Steve Jones, who runs Comority Farm in Mepham, this is a way of life.
00:10But increasingly, these objects have found themselves a target for the county's criminals.
00:16They'll take anything. Seriously. Livestock, machinery, vehicles, fertilizer.
00:24We never used to take the keys out of any vehicles. When I was younger,
00:27every vehicle had the keys in it, because somebody might need to move it,
00:30or somebody might need to borrow it, so you didn't think. But you couldn't do that now,
00:34even if we're out in the middle of a field. We can't leave a tool now. If we're using tools,
00:39we can't leave them. We'll have to, if you're moving something, you've got to pack everything
00:43away and lock it up, or just somebody will take it. Rural crime is costing Kent farmers nearly
00:51£2 million a year. For farmers like Steve, that's a huge impact on their bottom line.
00:59Kent is the fifth worst impacted county in England for costs of thefts based on claims,
01:06according to a new report from insurance firm NFU Mutual. It comes as the wider south-east
01:13saw farmers reeling from nearly £9 million of financial damage in 2023.
01:21Given the economic costs, the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner says
01:26tackling rural crime is a top priority for the force.
01:31I know that farmers are already investing in protection, so they are installing CCTV.
01:36Our new rural PCSOs are visiting them to help them implement smart water in order to protect
01:43their equipment and using various tracking devices so that if something does get stolen,
01:48we have a better chance of recovering it. You'll see a lot more of that in the coming months. We're
01:53keen to invest in supporting our rural community. The farmers are doing their bit and the police are
01:59doing theirs, and we just have to keep up that momentum. With the cost of crime being so evident
02:04in the garden of England, it's clear Kent police need to continue to find new ways to tackle
02:10farmers' fears. The alternative is being left behind in the dust by the county's criminals.
02:17Oliver leaves the sats for KMTV in Mepham.