Police Scotland JCB to visit Inverness as shocking figures reveal plant and fuel theft on rise
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A rise in rural plant and fuel thefts is being highlighted in an awareness-raising campaign which will visit Inverness on Thursday.
A Police Scotland liveried JCB 3CX will be at the day-long information event at Highland Industrial Supplies on Longman Industrial Estate.
Plant owners are encouraged to go along for advice on taking preventative measures as figures for Scotland reveal acquisitive crime in 2023 is 12.2 per cent higher than five-year mean – although the figure has been affected by the pandemic.
The figures includes theft of motor vehicles – from private cars to dump trucks – which are running at an average of 14 thefts a day.
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Police Scotland’s Rural and Acquisitive Crime Unit has been working with the Scottish Plant Owners Association to tackle plant and fuel theft across Scotland as part of a campaign launched in May 2023.
Between April and September 2023, there were 5178 more acquisitive crimes compared to the same period last year and 6239 more than the five-year mean – although the figure has been affected significantly by decreases in acquisitive crime during the pandemic.
Agricultural and forestry machinery, plant and quad bike/all-terrain vehicles were among the most frequently-stolen items.
Theft of motor vehicles reached the highest levels recorded during the reporting period, increasing by 13.3 per cent in 2022/23 and up by 11.3 per cent so far for 2023/24.
The biggest fear expressed by plant owners attending the campaign's information events is the total loss of an asset.
Not only is losing a piece of plant costly but there may be significant knock-on costs if it cannot be replaced quickly where work is delayed and penalty costs are sometimes added to a job.
Also with fuel theft, the damage done to take the fuel often exceeds the costs of the stolen fuel itself.
The events have been welcomed with plant owners, saying they often do not know where to turn to for up-to-date advice and expressing frustration at a lack of follow up from the police after thefts are reported.
Jamie Stewart and Kevin Taylor, of Police Scotland, will attend Thursday's event.
"The theft of plant equipment and vehicles from rural properties, construction sites or other locations significantly impacts that business’ operations and can have knock-on effects that are felt by the wider public," Mr Stewart said.
"There is no such thing as a victimless crime.
"Acquisitive crime overall is experiencing a rise in recorded incidents at present and Police Scotland is committed to working alongside relevant partners to address this increase and prevent further offences arising by empowering rural and construction businesses to consider appropriate security measures on and around their premises."
He urged anyone looking to improve their security provisions, or seeking crime prevention advice, to visit www.scotland.police.uk.
Callum Mackintosh, of Highland Hammer Hire in Munlochy, is the immediate president of the Scottish Plant Owners Association and has spearheaded the campaign with the police.
"While we have had a great response to this initiative, the latest statistics show that there is still a lot of work to do," he said.
"I’d also like to take this opportunity to stress the importance of reporting theft to the police.
"The more information available on these crimes the better as it helps the police to spot patterns and encourages plant owners to be extra vigilant.
"Working closely with Police Scotland has also been beneficial to create better understanding and awareness of the types of machinery used in our industry, which aids detection when items are stolen."
