FARMERS and police have joined together to tackle the growing problem of organised crime in the countryside.

Incidences of vehicle, quad and machinery thefts have become increasingly prevalent with criminals using every technological means at their disposal to case farms.

Now farmers, police and other stakeholders in the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC) are urging even greater vigilance to address the spike in rural crime.

NFU Scotland vice-president Robin Traquair said: “The threat of rural crime is ever present and there is a need for all who live and work in rural Scotland to remain vigilant and take steps that can help protect their livestock, property, vehicles and home. Secure vehicles, fuel, tools and property properly; invest in trackers and report suspicious people and vehicles to help in keeping crime at bay.”

Inspector Alan Dron, Police Scotland’s national rural crime co-ordinator echoes that sentiment.

He said: “Criminals are getting more intuitive and using smarter technology to carry out crimes, so any steps farmers, crofters and smallholders can take to protect their property will help.

“Some criminals are using drones and Google Earth as well as more traditional drive-bys to check where security cameras, vehicles and machinery are stored, and to spot if people are working on the farm or around buildings.”

Inspector Dron points out that this is all part of major crime organisations zeroing in on rural industry. He said: “They can relay this information to their partners on the ground and be in and out of a location without being noticed.’’

However he believes there is strength in the united rural response to the problem.

He added: “Despite this and thanks to many farmers, crofters and smallholders already taking steps to protect their property, Police Scotland are managing to retrieve more and more stolen agricultural vehicles, plant and quads due to many businesses investing in smart technology, security and trackers to protect their property.

“Currently the popular targets are quads, trailers and tractors. There’s a market for them but sadly don’t be fooled into thinking lightning doesn’t strike twice. Quite often the thieves can return a few weeks after the initial incident as they know there will be a new replacement vehicle on site that is there for the taking. We do record several repeat offences.”

Farmer Mike Hardie knows what it is like to be a victim of the criminals.

His son Adam, 25, was on his computer a couple of weeks ago when he saw a drone flying outside the family farmhouse in Berwickshire and mentioned it in passing to his father.

LITTLE did they know that it was criminals casing their business – and that they would return to steal their quad bike and 32 ewes, five or six weeks from lambing.

Mike Hardie had paid nearly £10,000 for the bike and believes the loss of his ewes could amount to nearly £9000.

Mike and his five-strong family are the human face of the rural crime wave to hit Scotland which has become all the more sophisticated.

He said: “We thought nothing of it when Adam saw the drone outside the house in the dark that night and we didn’t even think that it should be something we should alert the police about.

“But we had the quad bike and the ewes taken. We are up a single track besides the A1 so nobody saw anything.

“They must have had some damn good dogs and gates to get them back in the trailer to take them away.

“We don’t know what would have happened to the ewes, maybe they have been stolen to order and could be far away now. We put a lot of work into them and fed them and cared for them over the months only for this to happen.

“And as for where the quad bike might be now, well it could be sitting in a shed somewhere.”

The police have outlined measures that farmers should take to protect their equipment.

Inspector Dron said: “Personalising any vehicle will help with identification and recovery. Make notes about the vehicle identity number (VIN), distinguishing or unique features and take photos.

“Remember not all officers will be familiar with what a certain type of specialist equipment, tractor or quad will look like, so photos are ideal and easy to take on your phone anytime.

“The more information you can share with the police the better.”

AND he used a specific example of how their approach is working, saying: “Based on the farmer’s description, we recovered a tractor which had been shipped overseas that still had the rightful owner’s furry dice and stickers in the cab.

“If you have a dent or anything added to the vehicle that’s personal then record that. It all helps.

“It is also really important that you help us by reporting any crime or suspicious behaviour to 101 (or 999 if a crime is underway) and noting things like vehicle registrations.

“A small incident on your farm or croft may not mean much to you but if it happened to two or three or more of your neighbours then it suddenly becomes three of four reported incidents and strengthens evidence that we can work with.

“The more intelligence we have, the more likely we are to complete the jigsaw and track criminals down. Working together we can help protect rural Scotland against crime.”

For 53-year-old mixed farmer Hardie, who has 550 ewes and 30 cows and also subsidises his income with lorry delivery work when he can, the burglary is particularly hard in these times.

He despairs, though, at what the criminals are getting away with.

He said: “There was a police officer sent here and there was talk of applying a spray paint which could identify the ewes that stays there but that would cost £400 and then what would happen when we take the wool off. I don’t know.

“We never thought of drones being used for something like this. It would be the case before that you might get visits to your yard and if that were the case then we would see the tyre marks. Farmers even used drones for their business to map out their fields.

“Now I don’t know what we should do. I don’t think they’ve been caught. Maybe we need to get big dogs because you can’t alarm every gate.’’