Massive rise in tractor and quad bike theft

14 Sep 09

The record figures are a result of organised gangs “making more money out of equipment theft for far less risk than they do from smuggling drugs,” says TER, the National Plant and Equipment Register.

Plant and equipment theft is now a “low risk, high reward crime”.

A total of 184 tractors worth more than £2 million were stolen in the last 12 months as the recession has bitten, says the TER Theft Report. A total of 223 quad bikes were also stolen.

Other equipment showing a big increase in theft were fork lift trucks (up 67 per cent) and generators (up 55 per cent).

The report also reveals that:

• Trailers were the most commonly stolen item with 911 taken. Next were excavators (849), dumpers (244), quad bikes (223), telehandlers (202), breakers (197), tractors (184) and rollers (134).

• Excavators were the most commonly recovered item (41 per cent of all TER recoveries), followed by trailers (31%), telehandlers (13%), dumpers (8%) and rollers (4%).

• A total of 3678 items of plant were stolen last year with the average value of £9,800.

• The most valuable item was a crusher worth £140,000 taken from West Yorkshire. Most valuable item recovered was a telehandler worth £57,000 recovered in Gloucestershire.

• The five police force areas with the highest levels of equipment theft were Surrey Police (4.2 per cent of equipment crime), Thames Valley (3.9%) Metropolitan (3.9%), Kent (3.5%) and Greater Manchester (3.5%).

• Reported roller thefts dropped by 30 per cent. Also down were trailer thefts (-17%) and dumper thefts (-4%)

• A total 94 per cent of stolen plant is not recovered.

Manager of TER, Tim Purbrick, said: “The used equipment trade is like a huge money laundering machine where criminals push stolen equipment into the trade at one end and get clean cash out at the other.

“Serious organised criminals probably make more money out of equipment theft for less risk than they do from smuggling drugs. It’s a low risk, high reward crime.”

Too many parties were adopting the “ostrich approach” when it came to plant theft, he said.

“Effort must be made by all concerned to break the vicious circle of equipment theft through unique keys, immobilisers, tracking devices, better site security and use of due diligence for theft before trading, financing or insuring used plant and equipment.

“Until this vicious circle is broken, plant theft and fraud against insurers, banks and plant owners will continue to increase.”

TER operates Europe’s largest database of owned and stolen plant and equipment.

The full Theft Report can be downloaded free from its website www.ter-europe.org

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