Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) recommends these pillars for rural security:

natural surveillance,

access control,

territorial reinforcement, and

target hardening.

Auxiliary Inspector Brad Hull, OPP West Region regional commander, noted during a Grey Bruce Farmers Week on-demand prerecorded session there are various steps rural property owners can take to protect their property.

Why it matters

Farmers face a range of crimes, including theft of equipment, vehicles, and fuel, break-ins, mischief, fraud and even arson.

Natural surveillance is about how a community feels, to residents, visitors, and interlopers such as potential criminals.

Are curtains drawn and roads deserted? Are there dark areas where criminals can lurk? Or is there traffic and a sense of community, creating a perception that this is a place where crime won’t be ignored?

One of the simplest steps is to be an active member of your community.

Talk to your neighbours, know your neighbours,” Hull said. “Communities that interact are safer communities.”

Report any suspicious behaviour, no matter how minor, because investigations may reveal crime patterns or link it to another case, said Sgt. Jill Johnson of OPP West Region’s Crime Prevention and Community Support Bureau.

Ensuring your 911 number is clearly visible is a basic natural surveillance technique and essential to emergency service response.

Johnson explained that time is often critical in emergencies such as active break-and-enters. When police respond but cannot locate the property due to an unclear or obscured address, it creates delays that could impact safety.

Helping hand

Hull said OPP auxiliary officers offer a Safeguard Program evaluation, which helps people strengthen home and farm security, with supporting information offered online through the police service’s website.

Install deadbolts with four long screws in the strike plate, lock all windows, and use security film on windows where tools and equipment are stored. These upgrades help block visual access and secure storage areas, making targeting your farm more difficult for thieves.

Hull advised maintaining a list of valuables and property, such as tools, laptops, machinery, and vehicles, including make, model, value, description, serial numbers, and photographs for proof of ownership. He also recommended marking items for identification, which can help if serial numbers are altered.

Many rural properties are set back from the road, and landscaping, although beautiful, can create sight barriers that shield criminal activity, which is where a combination of access control, territorial reinforcement, and target hardening becomes essential.

This includes installing gates, motion-sensor lights and high-quality video surveillance, securing buildings, vehicles, and machinery, or even something as simple as having a dog.

Entrance gates aren’t necessarily practical for all working farms, Hull noted, but they can act as visual deterrents — like a dog’s bark — by creating a psychological barrier that signals heightened security and warns off thieves.

A big target is fuel, and during busy seasons like planting or harvest, it isn’t unusual to see a higher volume of vehicles moving in and out of a farm, said Hull.

Hull acknowledged that locking items may be inconvenient during busy seasons but emphasized that the additional minute required can help protect against theft.

Vehicle theft

Stolen vehicles, especially farm vehicles at the edge of a field with easily accessible keys, can significantly impact the community and police services, explained Johnson. She said the drivers may be unlicensed, dealing with substance issues, and unconcerned with road safety, putting everyone — your family, the school bus, and the fuel or milk tanker — at risk.

“Oftentimes, they’re driving the vehicle while high or impaired on substances, whether it’s drugs or alcohol, or both,” said Johnson. “People don’t think about the draw on resources.”

Initially, a multi-pronged approach is required: police seek the stolen vehicle, someone collects statements and evidence, footage is requested and reviewed, a be-on-the-lookout alert is issued, and social media posts solicit tips.

Even if the vehicle owner chases the thief with a secondary truck, emergency services will order them to disengage to prevent crashes, as it’s riskier than calling it in, said Johnson.

If a crash occurs, emergency services like fire, ambulance, and possibly the K9 unit respond. This could lead to another vehicle being stolen or set on fire to destroy evidence. If recovered, it’s important to cancel alerts, report the vehicle’s found status, and gather evidence, since most stolen vehicles are linked to other crimes, she said.

“We’re having to dedicate all this time and manpower to this investigation, all because the keys were left in the vehicle,” Johnson stated, advising developing safer, less obvious options, like using truck apps to remotely lock, unlock, or disable the vehicle when connectivity is reliable.

Brighten up

Installing motion lights in high-target areas provides another layer of protection, especially when combined with surveillance cameras.

Hull mentioned there are several inexpensive, easy-to-install, very bright LED motion lights, including solar-powered options that eliminate electricity and wiring costs, which instantly attract attention — a factor thieves usually avoid.

Johnson said today’s affordable, high-quality video surveillance is a valuable CPTED tool: it can quickly deter or help arrest thieves, and clear footage is strong evidence in court, often more reliable than eyewitnesses.

She suggests installing multi-camera units that provide wide coverage, especially at entrance points like doors and windows, the back of buildings, and areas where machinery is stored, or oversight is limited and encourages those with surveillance systems to join CAMsafe.

The private, secure database allows rural residents and farmers to register outdoor security cameras and designate contacts for police to connect with. It does not provide live access.

Johnson uses a time-is-of-the-essence example: a child going missing. Instead of going door-to-door, police can use the database to quickly reach out and ask “John Doe” to check his surveillance video, and while he does, police are phoning the next person to ask the same thing.

“If they find something, then they might provide that footage to us. Hopefully, they would, if something serious had happened in their area,” she said. “When time really does matter, that makes a big difference.”

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In April 2023 the farmer had made a report that 30,000 15-day-old chicks had gone missing from his Line 17, South Huron farm. The man subsequently made another report claiming that an additional 15,000 chicks had been stolen, totaling more than $139,000 in financial losses.

Following an investigation, Ontario Provincial Police have charged 41-year-old Henk Veldman with fraud over $5,000 and public mischief.

The whereabouts of the chicks was never determined, and police believe Veldman ‘disposed of’ the birds himself.

He is scheduled to appear in court in Goderich on May 26.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact Huron OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or 519-482-1677.

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“(Our food system) is a critical infrastructure at the intersection of every other critical infrastructure. When things go a little bit wobbly in the agri-food sector, we’re all affected,” says Janos Botschner, who leads the Cybersecurity Capacity in Canadian Agriculture initiative for the Community Safety Knowledge Alliance.

“But this isn’t just an issue of individual food security for the economic vitality of our particular sector. It’s also an issue of national security.”

Why it matters: Agricultural cybercrime events are threat to Canada’s food systems in terms of economics and consumer trust. Botschner moderated a panel discussion on cybersecurity in Canadian agriculture at the Future of Cybersecurity in Agriculture event held in Guelph last month.

Cybersecurity encompasses technical and engineering issues alongside a human component that no producer should negotiate alone, said Botschner, and the knowledge alliance has developed agricultural cybersecurity resources for producers.

Its “cyber barn raising” framework aims to increase awareness and provide guidance to producers by identifying agri-food sector issues, legislation, incentives and standards.

“(This) can really help everyone across the agri-food ecosystem do their part from the standpoints of innovation, support, regulation and ultimately resilience,” Botschner said.

Greg Wootton, OMAFRA’s assistant deputy minister and research and corporate services CAO, said cost is the initial concern, whether paying a ransom or implementing defence systems.

As cybercriminals become more proficient, and their attacks become more frequent and disruptive, he said the erosion of trust in Ontario and Canada’s food systems carries an equally heavy price.

“Food is not only a necessity, but it is also a cultural touchstone, a societal touchstone, so there’s that trust element,” said Wootton, adding that even with consistent inspections, digitalized systems increase vulnerability.

It becomes a new mental health concern for producers who already bear the stress of managing crop or animal disease, weather and market challenges.

Katherine MacDonald, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada director general of strategic management, information systems branch, said Statistics Canada figures indicate 20 per cent of Canadian businesses have been affected by cyber incidents, with an average downtime of 36 hours and an overall ransom payout of $600 million.

Of those, 0.8 per cent fell within the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting category, and 0.1 per cent paid ransom. MacDonald said the small percentage could represent approximately 1,600 producers with a much higher ransom payout than other sectors.

In early 2024, AAFC interviewed 1,300 people for a public opinion study that included cyber incident readiness. Here are some highlights:

• Forty per cent of producers are concerned or very concerned that a cyber incident could disrupt their operations;
• Larger operations were more likely to be concerned than smaller ones;
• Nine per cent said they were victims of cybercrime, but MacDonald theorized a fair percentage were unaware of attacks;
• Thirty-five per cent are somewhat or very prepared to ward off a cyberattack, 28 per cent are slightly prepared, and 37 per cent are unprepared;
• Dairy operations are less likely than other businesses to report feeling prepared.

Ali Dehghantanha, University of Guelph associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Cybersecurity and Threat Intelligence, said a recent Accenture report showed that 60 per cent of small- and medium-sized Canadian businesses go bankrupt within six months of a cyberattack.

“In ag and agri-food, most businesses are small and medium-sized. We are talking about a sector where the impact of an attack could be getting out of the business completely.”

Dehghantanha said vendors won’t implement security protocols beyond the minimum required unless there are greater investment incentives, security requirements or standards.

“That lack of security and protection monitoring, all those things, is not only on the producer or the client side.”

Additionally, cybersecurity is a relatively niche skill set, and attracting talented people to work in the agri-food sector requires ag businesses to compete with other sectors.

Dehghantanha said the Netherlands, where government agencies collaborate and prioritize cybersecurity on a similar level as biosecurity, has initiated incentives and assistance for the agriculture and agri-food sector to achieve a higher level of cybersecurity.

“We are yet to see a very big cyberattack impacting society,” he said. “That will be a wake-up call for everyone.”

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Merlin-area grain farmer Blake Vince first thought it was happenstance, then coincidence. Now he wonders if a bad actor has been putting flame to his residue-heavy fields.

If his concerns are true, he wouldn’t be the only farmer to become a target of rural arson. While such incidents in Ontario farm country are few, they can have consequences far beyond damage to crops and fields.

Why it matters: Arson in farm fields is not common but purposely set fires in dry field residue or crops can be very damaging, costly and dangerous to the wider community.

The three incidents on Vince’s farm occurred in two adjacent fields away from main roads. There are few houses nearby, and those in the vicinity do not face the area where fires occurred. There is a windmill in the middle, and a laneway affording easy access to the centre of the furthest field.

The only other features of note are a nearby gravel road, hydro poles, and in parts of the year, an abundance of crop residue – evidence of Vince’s long-standing focus on no-till, soil health, and the incorporation of cover crops.

“We filed a police report back in the spring already, after the first fire, because it was actually fire number two. The first fire took place three years ago, and it was the same thing – corn stalks, in the same exact field.

“Then this April, when it was hot and dry, it was the second fire,” said Vince in early August. “You know you get kind of suspicious, saying ‘OK, what’s going on? Is this an arsonist? Just a nuisance?

“What really started to concern me was when I had my tractor attached to my air seeder in the field. That was the holiday Monday, Victoria Day. Just sitting here parked. Again they lit the corn stalks up, and with a calculation that the wind was going to blow the flame towards that tractor and air seeder.

“That’s what really caught my attention, it wasn’t just an act of being a nuisance per say. To add insult to injury, we then had another fire the long weekend in July where they lit up cover crop residue where I had an actively growing corn crop. Again, it seems more calculating at this point. It’s got you on edge.”

Arson uncommon — but possible

Rural arson in farm fields is not unheard of, although it is rare. Dave McEachran, firefighter, first responder trainer and retired farmer from Glencoe, said the most common cause of farm fires is electrical problems in barns and other buildings.

In the field, lightning strikes or the occasional roadside cigarette butt have been known to burn crops and residue.

When fires are intentionally set, those responsible are not necessarily arsonists as most would understand and interpret the term, he said. More likely it’s a result of mischief and a one-off incident. The perpetrators often scare themselves with the results of their actions. A recent case in McEachran’s area involving in-field straw bales, for example, likely originated in this way.

However, the danger cannot be dismissed.

“It had been recently baled. I think there was some red clover under seeded, so that helped matters, and the fact that it had rained… The risk is those fires can move very quickly. They can and will spread into residential areas and lead to massive disasters.

“It’s not something we should be naïve about in southern Ontario alone. The weather we experienced in the first half of the crop season, there was extreme fire risk at that time,” says McEachran, adding the field fire in question originated from two separate straw bales, both showing intentional ignition.
“When someone lights a fire, they always leave a fingerprint of some sort.”

Part of a fire department’s job is identifying that fingerprint when the cause of a fire is unknown or suspicious. While steps can be taken to extinguish fires without compromising potential evidence about origin, McEachran says the problem for Glencoe and other rural fire services is determining where to spend limited resources.

If there are no suspicions or indications of foul play in a field fire or outbuilding and wider community impact is low, investigations might be short.

“The real cost is to the rest of the community. If a volunteer fire department has to deal with four or five big fires in a community, it costs tax dollars, it exhausts the firefighters themselves… You can really begin to tax a crew of firefighters when there are other emergencies in an area, whether car accidents or medical calls,” says McEachran.

Communication is critical

With Vince’s case in mind, McEachran said property owners who have experienced multiple or otherwise suspicious incidents should notify their local fire chief. This keeps authorities informed in case an arsonist is active in the area.

Contacting local authorities was one of the first things Vince did after the fire in 2023. But after three successive fires, plus the initial occurrence three years prior, he wonders why someone might target him.

“Have I done something to offend someone? Or is it perhaps a mental illness that, for whatever reason, the quiet road where the farm is located, they’re just doing something to gain attention or have some kind of satisfaction?

“As a property owner in general, as farmers when we have our assets hanging out in the wind on display, you know it makes you concerned. Are there bigger risks at play, whether it’s buildings or other machinery related assets?”

Beyond staying vigilant and in communication with local authorities, Vince wonders how to prevent future incidents. Cameras could help, but there are few places to install them. The wind turbine company does not seem interested in attaching anything to infrastructure, and cameras on roadside hydro poles would be plainly visible.

He hopes making the issue public will help raise awareness.

“Perhaps it’s someone that has a grievance towards wind turbines. I hope it’s not something I have done personally to cause an individual or individuals to try and seek some sort of resolution,” said Vince.

“Let’s be adults about this. Let’s come to a space whereby we can agree to disagree and move forward, or come to some sort of a resolution where we’re not perpetuating this problem.”

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It might be the pickup truck stolen from the edge of a field while someone was planting, visits to sheds at night picked up by motion-sensor cameras, or a dealership which has lost a tractor or utility vehicle. There are also the cases, reported regularly on Twitter, of tractors and equipment, sometimes large, disappearing from fields.

After significant rise in farm theft in 2022, police say there are precautions farmers should take to avoid losses in equipment and vehicles. They range from the simple to the complex.

Why it matters: Theft of equipment and other items can result in financial losses to Ontario farmers.
Constable Kevin Martin of the South Bruce Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said a large component of farm theft prevention simply comes down to the protection of keys.

Martin came up with the #pocketyourkeys campaign to encourage safe keeping of vehicles on Ontario farms.

“The idea behind Pocket Your Keys is the ownership piece, right? Your vehicle, your key, your responsibility,” said Martin. “The ownership piece, this ‘my keys are my keys’ thing really does carry a lot of weight.”

Martin stressed that the most important thing to do is take the small steps to stop vehicles from being seen as easy targets.

“We want to create measures that make it difficult for thieves. Some will hotwire these things, but it’s very rare. There are so many vehicles being taken with the keys, it’s just not worth their time to go through the extra effort.

“Don’t leave an unattended vehicle running — that’s an easy target. If we think of theft as a crime of opportunity, then we can think this theft is a crime of opportunity that you can help control. So pocket your keys.”

Martin said to think of keys as currency. “Do you leave your cash lying around? Do you leave credit cards lying around? So don’t leave your keys lying around.”

Chuck Ellison, farm underwriting manager for Zehr insurance in Listowel, also suggests finding a safe place for keys, but recommended thinking beyond the obvious hiding places.

“Everybody knows to check under the mat and check under the visor for the keys.”

Like Martin, Ellison said that many of the personal vehicle thefts he has observed do not involve complex hotwiring, but are often simple crimes of opportunity, an easy way for thieves to get “from point A to point B.”

Ellison said farm theft was up during the pandemic, though it has since fluctuated. He said he has seen farmers start to take extra precautions to guard their equipment, including security cameras.

“Just something that’ll keep track of, you know, 48 hours to a week or whatever and then it just writes over itself, so if stuff does go missing, they’ve at least got that just to help mitigate that.

“I have a bunch of clients, if they have a piece of equipment that always sits in the same place, they have a camera that is dedicated to that space.”

Martin said that beyond the cost to the farmers themselves, farm theft can take a toll on communities as a whole.

“What happens when your vehicle is taken? Do they run somebody over? Do they shuttle stolen property? Yes, it is a horrible thing when your vehicle is taken. But there’s also a social cost as well, greater than your loss.”

Some farm equipment distributors have introduced innovative anti-theft technology. Mallory Everson, precision ag manager at Green Tractors Omemee, said GPS tracking in John Deere equipment is becoming more widespread.

“We have a product called JDLink now. We started out on the larger agricultural side of things, so your heavier freight tractors, combines, that sort of thing, but now, as of model year 2024, we’ll have it in our compact utility tractors.”

Everson explained that JDLink is essentially a modem called a modular telematics gateway (MTG).

“It’s in your tractor, it has a cellular signal and there’s also data packages along with that. It allows a cellular network to track where that machine is going, as well as the diagnostics of the tractor.

“You could set geofences, boundaries, stuff like that, so it has helped in a few cases for us, not just logistically… but also that they should be where they should be.”

She said that this type of tracking technology can be helpful for theft prevention on the side of the distributor.

“You show back up at the dealership on Monday and I can pull up those machines, and as long as nothing’s been disabled, I can tell where those machines are if we need to recover them.”

Everson said she has seen a significant increase in interest in GPS tracking of equipment in recent years.

“I think (farmers) are leaning towards more the technology-embedded equipment now because of things like GPS and the tracking ability, just to make sure those machines are where they should be, their operators are where they should be, it’s not being taken outside of property bounds if they set those geofences.”

Everson said one cause of theft was that some locking technology has yet to reach agricultural equipment, leaving it vulnerable.

“We’re a little bit behind the automotive side of things where now you have key fobs that are specific to your machine. If you’re not in it, you can’t get in the vehicle. You can’t start it.

“We’re not quite there yet,” said Everson.

“In a lot of cases, that combine key will turn on many combines out there. There’s a few cuts of keys that will turn on multiple pieces of equipment, so theft is easy for some guys that can pull in with a trailer, have a key cut that matches, you know, 10 machines in that yard, and pull them on a trailer in the middle of the night.”

Martin said this was something he had observed as well.

“I’m not saying a Case key works in Massey Ferguson, but I have heard that keys will work in many different vehicles.”

To avoid thus, he suggested getting a lock for the vehicle door, rather than going through the expensive process of replacing the ignition.

Theft is not only happening to farmers on their property. Everson said it has been an issue in dealerships as well.

“They’re bold. They’ll just cut down your gate, drive in, pull in with flatbeds and hoodies on and off they go.”

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Although more thefts seem to be occurring during the day and while people are on site, Scott Smith, a registered insurance broker and partner at Zehr Insurance and cash crop farmer, says there are some things farmers can do to protect themselves. 

Why it matters: Farmers are experiencing an increase in theft, often involving vehicles, GPS receivers and fuel. Implementing security measures can reduce the risk of assets being stolen.

Property

Since many thefts are crimes of opportunity, locks, gates, fences and other security measures that make it harder for thieves to access property are good methods of protection.

Investing in good quality locks with keys and ensuring they are installed on buildings and barns is important, according to the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s on-farm security manual. The guide also suggests investing in security lighting at key areas of farm property.

Smith adds that a practice as simple as closing doors when sheds are not in use can reduce the visibility of contents to someone driving by.

“A lot of people are leaning towards using cameras for extra peace of mind,” he says. “They’re handy, easily available and can help identify unknown vehicles or individuals.”

Insurance companies offer discounts for monitored alarms and security systems.

Vehicles

Derek Rogers, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) west region media relations co-ordinator, says people in rural areas tend to leave keys in their vehicles for the sake of convenience.

“Thieves know this and are taking advantage of hard-working people by stealing their vehicles, which are frequently used in the commission of other criminal acts such as property theft,” he says.

The OPP runs “lock it or lose it” and “pocket your keys” campaigns specific to the rural community to remind people to lock vehicles and keep keys with them. The same message can be extended for tractors and other equipment, especially when parked outdoors.

Smith knows many farmers keep tractor keys in the cab but he makes it a priority to lock equipment and take the keys with him.

“I do a circle check at the end of the day so I can go home feeling confident that I did my best to make theft as difficult as possible,” he says, noting the importance of double-checking locks, doors, windows and keys.

Technology

The international issue of global positioning system (GPS) receiver and display theft is made worse by the fact that most units cannot be disabled or tracked by location.

In the case of John Deere products, precision agriculture experts across Ontario say more customers are now buying receiver locking brackets. They also recommend unplugging receivers and locking them in the cab or another safe location when not in use.

John Deere is responding to the demand for better security features. The StarFire 6000 receiver and 4640 universal display will now have a security PIN code option, similar to a cell phone.

While this does not necessarily prevent theft, enabling the code feature will allow only users who enter the PIN to access the device when it powers on.

Fuel

To reduce the risk of fuel theft, Smith recommends using multiple locks on storage tanks and making sure pumps are tightly installed so they can’t easily be removed.

Hiding the control switch for electric pumps in a building and disconnecting power when not in use is also important.

Farm Mutual Re published a document in June that advises farmers to install tanks away from the road and visible from a house or office. Fencing the area with lockable gates and adding security cameras and lighting are recommended.

On large or remote properties, tanks should be kept locked and out of sight from the road and only filled in the season they are needed.

In terms of insurance, Smith recommends farmers keep in regular contact with their brokers and be diligent about inventory lists and value updates.

Rogers encourages victims of theft to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 as soon as possible.

“Policing is an intelligence-driven business,” he says. “It’s important that police know of these incidents, as it heightens investigators’ awareness of a potential theft problem in a specific location. The more information our officers have, the better the chances of apprehending those responsible.”

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Two John Deere dealers confirm that global positioning system (GPS) StarFire receivers and displays have been of significant interest. Depending on the type of activation associated with each unit, these products are worth $10,000 to $20,000 each.

Why it matters: Farm theft is a major inconvenience for farmers who need their equipment to run when the conditions are right.
Nine John Deere receivers and displays were taken from two neighbouring farms in Moorefield between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on May 3.

The owner of four units taken from a tractor and sprayer parked near the road believes they were a crime of opportunity. The neighbour, who had five units stolen from equipment parked behind the house and shop, was likely the intended target.

“It was very well planned,” said one of the farmers, who requested anonymity. “They knew what they needed, had the right tools and did a very tidy job of removing the hardware without cutting any wires.”

She said she hopes it serves as a reminder that rural theft can be sophisticated and bold and can occur at any time of day.

“Anybody who thinks that criminals only come in the middle of the night is wrong…that doesn’t happen anymore.”

The timing left both farmers scrambling to find replacement products so they could operate equipment during planting. They credit local farmers who loaned them extra receivers and displays.

“Theft has definitely been a big problem this year and the even bigger problem is the lack of supply of replacement units,” said Graham Burton, integrated solutions manager at Premier Equipment.

Dealerships would normally have ample supply on hand but the pandemic has caused product shortages and delays. Burton has reallocated some new product arrivals to farmers affected by theft but is waiting on many orders.

On June 2, Ken Schaus took to Twitter to share details about a receiver that was stolen from his 9420R while it was parked in Crawford. He offered a reward and his post was shared more than 100 times but he was unsuccessful in regaining the unit.

“Rural crime is getting worse,” Schaus tweeted. “John Deere should do the right thing and disable or locate them when connected to the new hardware.”

It’s a common inquiry, but Burton says it’s not possible to track the location of receivers and displays or to disable them.

“Since they receive a satellite signal but can’t send one out, once they’re gone, they’re gone,” the Moorefield farmer said.

Dealers can report the serial numbers of stolen products to John Deere and if a reported product is taken into any dealership worldwide, it will be flagged as stolen.

But the likelihood of locating products this way is low. Since they are fully functional when plugged into a tractor and the activations are permanent, Burton says the only time he would come across a stolen receiver is if the customer wanted to make a change, such as upgrading the activation.

GPS receiver and display theft is an international issue. Farm media in England and Ireland also reported increased theft in June.

Farmers and rural property owners in Ontario have noticed an uptick in vehicle and fuel theft, including multiple incidents where pick-up trucks have been stolen from farmyards and fields.

A bold theft occurred near Palmerston on May 12 when a truck with a fuel tank and skid of seed in the box was stolen from a field while two farmers were working there. Despite the farmers witnessing the incident and reporting other sightings, the truck was not found until it was involved in a collision the following week.

Derek Rogers, west region media relations coordinator for the OPP, said crimes are not categorized as urban or rural so he could not confirm any increase in farm theft. He urged anyone who is a victim of theft to call 1-888-310-1122 as soon as possible.

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