Crime and security on agricultural operations

Agriculture is big business, especially in market-oriented countries like Australia, Great Britain and the United States. Yet, little is known about crime and security issues related to agriculture. This article reviews the literature on agricultural crime and reports on results from a farm victimization and security survey in New South Wales, Australia, using place-based theories to guide the research. Incidents of burglary and the theft of fuel, equipment and machinery were inversely related to the visibility of farm buildings to the farm residence; stock theft was directly related to the distance of a farm to a town and to farms with a hilly terrain; malicious damage and illegal trespassing occurred more often on farms near highways or close to towns; and illegal dumping of trash was inversely associated with unoccupied properties and those closer to town. The implications for security on agricultural operations and for future research on agricultural crime and security are discussed.