When farmer Ed Lovejoy rounded up his sheep final month, he was left “stunned” and feeling “pretty sick”.
A complete of 116 ewes had vanished from his flock of 460, with the lacking livestock price some £17,000.
Initially suspecting the animals might have escaped, Mr Lovejoy went looking out close to his farm in Woodchurch, Kent, however there was no hint of them.
It wasn’t till a witness reported seeing somebody on a quad bike pushing the sheep to the aspect of a area that the fact dawned on the 40-year-old farmer.
Brazen thieves had staged a daring raid to steal the animals, which at the moment are feared to have been slaughtered and bought as meat on the black market.
It comes amid warnings that Britain is a dealing with a “potential crime crisis” linked to the hovering value of dwelling.
Electricity thefts, shoplifting, insurance coverage fraud and rural crime are reportedly on the rise amid the spiralling value of meals and power.
Fraudsters are “weaponising” the state of affairs with a collection of scams, a charity says, whereas organised crime teams are mentioned to be viewing the disaster as “an opportunity” to recruit.
In the countryside, insurance coverage firm NFU Mutual has warned of a rise in rustling, with an estimated £2.4m price of cattle stolen final yr and an extra £1.4m taken within the first eight months of 2022.
Mr Lovejoy mentioned the theft of his Romney sheep, a local Kent breed, would have a “knock-on effect” on his enterprise for 2 to 3 years.
He suspects the animals had been taken to a “dodgy abattoir” or killed and bought as meat by the criminals themselves.
“There is years and years of breeding that goes into these sheep and you care for them all year round,” Mr Lovejoy informed Sky News.
“For someone to just take them and steal them, it makes you feel pretty sick.
“I feel they’d have most likely slaughtered them and put them into the meals chain someway.”
Fears livestock thieves can’t be stopped
Mr Lovejoy said he reported the theft of his sheep to police but the culprits have not been found.
He is now concerned the criminals will return again to attempt to steal more of his animals.
“How do you safe 700 acres to cease folks getting on it to steal sheep? I’m unsure it is attainable,” he said.
“It is a fear that they will take extra.
“If food becomes really expensive then there’s always a black market.
“If the price of dwelling disaster will get worse, there’s an opportunity we will see an increasing number of livestock thefts.”
Rise in violent crime predicted
A criminologist says the UK faces a “potential crime crisis” linked to the price of dwelling – together with a rise in violence on the streets.
Dr Robert Hesketh, from Liverpool John Moores University, informed Sky News: “As the cost of living crisis starts to peak, I think there will be an increase (in crime) – I think it’s a no-brainer.
“In areas like mine – marginalised areas, areas of social exclusion – it should shoot up, notably with younger folks.
“I heard on one occasion the family of a young person being told: ‘Look, we’ll pay your Sky bills, just let your lad do some deliveries for us’.
“You’ll get folks inside organised crime teams monopolise on this, as a result of they know persons are going to want cash.
“Already there’s been an increase in electricity theft – it’s up 13% (in 2021-22 on the previous year).
“In communities like mine, it solely takes one to get away with it and there is [people] saying: ‘Get on to this’.”
‘Police are going to must prioritise’
Dr Hesketh mentioned organised crime teams view the price of dwelling disaster as “an opportunity to get more manpower, more people involved in street crime and drug dealing, and those in charge keep their hands clean”.
“With the organised crime groups around my area, it’s very territorial,” he added.
“As people get desperate, and organised criminals get more greedy, then they’ll start overtaking other people’s turf…. obviously that becomes violent.
“Violence is a component and parcel of organised crime… that is how they thrive. Without violence, they’re nothing.”
Dr Hesketh said he believed police “are going to must prioritise”.
“Resources are brief as it’s, they will focus primarily on extra severe violent acts, I feel,” he added.
Victims targeted ‘left, right and centre’
Charity Victim Support said it had seen people targeted by scams around the government’s council tax rebate and an increase in people trying to take out “fast loans” through unregulated services.
Lisa Mills, the charity’s senior fraud manager, told Sky News: “People are on this sizzling state – they’re anxious about the price of dwelling – so they’re taking extra dangers than they’d usually.
“This scenario now is going to be weaponised by the fraudsters. We saw it with the pandemic.
“When persons are feeling anxious and unsure, their capability to rationalise and take into consideration issues goes to be compromised.
“What we have seen is people who are desperately in need of money are taking unnecessary risks by taking out loans online.
“We know persons are going to be focused left, proper and centre.”
Ms Mills warned of a possible rise in “money muling” – when a felony convinces somebody to just accept cash into their account earlier than the funds are then moved into one other account.
“It’s in effect money laundering – it’s washing dirty money,” she mentioned.
“We have seen instances where younger people are being promised free trainers if they accept money to then forward on.
“Your guard is down on this time of disaster and other people will simply be on the finish of their tether considering ‘I would like a fast repair now’, and that is being supplied to me and it sounds nice.”
Ms Mills warned that some unregulated loans may charge high interest rates or the loan may not even exist.
She said: “As quickly as they pay cash, an internet site will get taken down, you have misplaced your cash – so the mortgage did not exist within the first place.
“It’s capturing people that way.”
Read extra:
Teens earning profits for households by becoming a member of gangs
Police watchdog suggests officers may ignore some shoplifting
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has mentioned forces have thought-about the influence of the price of dwelling disaster however denied experiences it was making ready for a “tidal wave” of violent crime and public dysfunction.
An NPCC spokesman mentioned: “Our ongoing priority remains prevention, and we continually work with communities to gather intelligence around crime and disorder.
“As a end result, policing is ready to recurrently intervene early to forestall incidents or their escalation as a result of this group intelligence to maintain the general public protected.”
Source: information.sky.com”