Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill becomes law

The Equipment Theft (Prevention) Bill, which completed its parliamentary stages on Friday 14 July, has now become an Act after receiving Royal Assent on Thursday. It will come into force in six months’ time.

The new Act, which the Countryside Alliance supported from the outset, allows the Secretary of State to require all mechanised agricultural equipment newly sold to the public to be fitted with a marked engine immobiliser, and that records are kept of equipment that has been sold and its buyers. 

Requiring a prominently visible engine immobiliser on all new agricultural equipment should provide a deterrent effect by making it harder to steal, decreasing its attractiveness to thieves. Meanwhile, requiring dealers to keep records of sales and purchasers should make it easier for police to investigate thefts and to restore recovered property to its rightful owners. It should also make it easier for legitimate owners to demonstrate their title if needed during an investigation into suspected theft. Quad bike and ATV theft reported to NFU Mutual cost £2.2 million in 2021, with the total cost of agricultural vehicle and GPS systems amounting to £9.1 million. 

As long-term campaigners on the issue of combatting rural crime and a founding member of the National Rural Crime Network, the Countryside Alliance conducts an annual survey of rural communities’ experiences and perceptions over the past calendar year. Since the Bill was first introduced in the House of Commons, we concluded our 2022 survey and published the results. They revealed that 43% of respondents reported having had a crime committed against them in the past year and of those, 35% reported having experienced agricultural machinery theft. This was the second most reported crime, just 3% behind fly-tipping.

Lord Blencathra presented the Bill for its final stage in the House of Lords, after its progenitor Greg Smith MP had successfully won Government support and shepherded it through the House of Commons. It received unanimous approval, without amendment, at every stage. Warm thanks are due to both parliamentarians, as well as the other groups and police figures who alongside the Countryside Alliance helped shaped the Bill and campaign for it. 

Lord Blencathra told the House: 

“The fitting of immobilisers is long overdue. Those manufacturers which have not fitted them in the past had better get with the programme, as the days of selling expensive machinery with Mickey Mouse locks will soon be over. If something is stolen, the forensic marking system will enable it to be returned to the rightful owner. This and immobilisers should make it not worth the while of criminal gangs to steal the huge number of ATVs and equipment that they are currently stealing.” 

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