Plant theft rising, says SPOA
13 December 2023
As the year draws to a close, the Scottish Plant Owners Association (SPOA) has provided an update on the work it has undertaken with Police Scotland’s Rural and Acquisitive Crime Unit since the launch of the Scottish Partnership Against Acquisitive Crime (SPAACE) in May this year, aimed at tackling plant and fuel theft across Scotland.
Following numerous events where the team has taken a Police Scotland liveried JCB 3CX all over Scotland, the final meeting of the year takes place tomorrow (14 December) at Highland Industrial Supplies (HIS) in Perth.
The event comes as new figures from Police Scotland show that acquisitive crime has continued to increase compared against the same period last year and is now higher than the five-year mean.
Between April and September 2023, there were 5,178 more crimes compared with the same period last year and 6,239 more than the five-year mean.
Theft of motor vehicles, including all mechanically propelled vehicles from a private car to a dump truck, has reached the highest level recorded during the reporting period, increasing by 13.3% in 2022/23 and up by 11.3% so far for 2023/24. This equates to an average of 14 thefts of motor vehicles a day.
The free information events organised by the SPOA since the initiative launched have been well attended. The biggest fear expressed by plant owners attending is the total loss of an asset.
Not only is losing a piece of plant costly, but there may also be significant knock-on costs if it cannot be replaced quickly where work is delayed and penalty costs are sometimes added to a job.
Equally, when it comes to fuel theft, often the damage done to take the fuel exceeds the costs of the stolen fuel itself.
Over the past eight months, the advice given to plant owners has been welcomed with many stating they simply do not know where to turn to for up-to-date advice. Frustration at a lack of follow up from the police after thefts are reported has also been expressed.
Inspector Jordan Low from Police Scotland’s National Rural and Acquisitive Crime Unit said: “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.
“I would encourage anyone who is looking to enhance their security provisions, or who is seeking out crime prevention advice, to visit our website.”
Callum Mackintosh, Immediate Past President and instrumental in the SPOA’s partnership with SPAACE, added: “Whilst we have had a great response to this initiative, the latest statistics show that there is still a lot of work to do.
“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.
“Once again, we would like to acknowledge and thank JCB and Scot JCB for the loan of the JCB 3CX which has definitely piqued the interest of the general public as well as those in the plant industry with its eye-catching Police Scotland livery.”
The free information event at HIS Perth at Inveralmond Industrial Estate will give advice on issues such as property marking measures including the CESAR scheme, use of The Equipment Register to record and aid the recovery of plant and equipment, tracking devices such as CanTrack, geofencing using JCB’s Live-Link or similar telematics, CCTV and alarm systems, and how to counteract suspicious behaviours.
