Farm Crime Victimisation and Prevention Decision Making: Can insights from England and Wales inform the Baltic Sea Region?

Abstract

Farms in England and Wales continue to have low levels of crime prevention measures in use despite the increasing threat, and what is used is often ineffective. Farm crime in England and Wales is becoming increasingly organised in its nature, as such farmers are having to deal with both the ever-present threat of opportunistic thefts, but also the broadening impact of Organised Criminal Groups in the rural space. As a result of this change, farmers are very much being left on the back foot in being able to protect themselves adequately. They are no longer just facing traditional thefts, but other crime types that are now significantly challenging traditional crime prevention theories such as Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) often favoured by police forces in England and Wales. Such crimes include hare coursing as a sport, agrochemical theft and counterfeiting, and forced labour within the agricultural sector. As a direct result of this, farmers are finding themselves under much more significant pressure from criminality in the rural space. Crime is increasingly challenging farmer ontological security, and thus their ability to make effective decisions both around crime prevention but also general business decision-making. This coupled with an inability to protect their farm using traditional crime prevention methods may potentially have a negative impact on farmer mental health, and this should be discussed among rural crime researchers and practitioners to ensure that the wider impact is clearly understood. This position seen within England and Wales will be briefly reviewed and compared in relation to the experiences noted in the academic research being conducted across the Baltic Sea region to establish any potential similarities in patterns, and whether any learning can be taken from the situation being experienced in England and Wales.