Rural crime is increasing and is under-reported: That’s the word from both farmers and the police. 

A Federated Farmers survey has shown rising rates of rural crime, Fed Farmers national board member Richard McIntrye said.

Of more than 1000 farmers who responded to the 2023 Federated Farmers Rural Crime Survey, 67 percent said they had experienced an incident in the past two years - a 14 percent increase from the 2021 survey, and a 26 percent increase from the first survey in 2016.  

The most common incident in the 2023 survey was illegal street racing, reported by nearly two-thirds of respondents. 

Illegal hunting or poaching was next highest at 47 percent and property theft at 35 percent.

Richard said there had been a marked overlap with burnouts and dangerous driving of ‘boy racers’ and instances of property damage and theft.  

But the incidents of poaching are what “really worry” him, he said, because they involve offenders coming onto farms with firearms. 

“We’ve got people shooting semi-randomly about the place without any understanding of the safety risks.” 

A police spokesperson told the Wānaka App that police had reviewed the results of the survey and been in touch with Federated Farmers to discuss the findings and work together on improving outcomes for rural victims of crime.

“Rural police officers regularly engage with farmers, but feedback like this provides more information to help us understand the challenges farmers are facing,” the spokesperson said.

“We know that rural crime is under-reported… We know that rural areas are a target for criminals, but it is hard to get an accurate picture of how rural crime is tracking. Farms can be easy targets, and that’s just what an opportunistic thief will be looking for.

“Our message to farmers is: Please tell us when you’ve been targeted. You’re giving us a valuable picture of where crime is occurring, what is being targeted, and gives us the opportunity to act. This goes for illegal street racing and even suspicious activity.”

The police spokesperson said the biggest deterrent to crime is prevention, adding: “About two-thirds of rural burglaries and thefts occur at properties with no or little security in place”.

“Our focus is on working with Federated Farmers and other industry groups to hammer home the prevention message. ‘Target hardening’ can be as simple as locking gates or sheds.”

Richard McIntyre said the survey results underline the organisation’s call for more police resources in rural areas.