Rural crime under-reported

Ms Cleeland, who comes from a farming background, pointed out that with a police shortage in Victoria now running to about 2000 places, hard-pressed police officers were having difficulty keeping up with crime investigations.

This resulted in a lack of confidence that crimes would be followed up, which impacted the reporting of crimes.

“Farms are more exposed because there simply are not enough boots on the ground because Labor has stripped capacity out of regional policing,” she said.

Vehicle thieves appear to becoming bolder in their targeting of cars.

Prior to Christmas, a farm ute containing thousands of dollars worth of equipment was stolen from the same paddock the farmer was harvesting in. The vehicle was later found burnt-out.

Ms Cleeland believes the real crime rate may be higher than official figures show, because many farmers are not reporting crime.

“They have lost faith it will be followed up. That is a damning indictment of how stretched our police force has become,” she said.

“We have fewer agricultural liaison officers and less specialist capacity to investigate farm crime. These are complex crimes involving stock, machinery and fuel, and they need officers who understand agriculture.

“Farm crime is not opportunistic petty theft.

“It is organised, targeted and costly, yet Labor has hollowed out the very units designed to deal with it.

“Vehicle theft from farms is at a decade high, equipment theft has nearly doubled in value, and stock theft is still happening at scale. These are not victimless crimes. They hit family livelihoods.

“We are seeing fuel siphoned, machinery and tools taken, and livestock stolen, often in remote areas where police response times are stretched.

“I still encourage farmers to report every incident. Reporting matters, because it builds the evidence base and strengthens the case for more resources where they are needed.

“We need to rebuild confidence that when farmers speak up, someone will turn up.”

VFF president Brett Hosking said rural crime, including the theft of livestock and equipment, was one of the chief concerns for rural communities, along with the state of the roads and energy infrastructure.

There were 1745 agriculture-related offences across the state in the most recent financial year.