‘Soft target’ Scotland fears of MSP

SCOTLAND is becoming a soft target for rural criminals, with new figures revealing a widening gap with England and Wales.

And farmers now paying the price, warns Galloway and West Dumfries MSP Finlay Carson.

He has highlighted new data shows the cost of rural crime in Scotland jumped by 14 per cent to £1.4 million in 2025.

But across the rest of the UK, the picture is the exact opposite—with overall costs falling by six per cent to £41.5 million, driven by sharp drops in England and Wales.

He now fears Scotland is being left behind—and increasingly targeted.

Mr Carson, who is the Scottish Conservative Shadow Rural Affairs spokesman, said: “While England and Wales are getting a grip on rural crime, Scotland is going backwards.

“Criminals will exploit that gap—and that’s exactly what we are now seeing. These gangs don’t respect borders. They will move stolen equipment quickly across different parts of the UK to avoid detection.

If Scotland is seen as weaker, it becomes a target.”

High-value thefts of tractors, quad bikes and machinery are at the centre of the problem—often carried out by organised gangs operating across borders.

He added: “This isn’t just about money—when a tractor or quad bike is stolen, a farmer can’t do their job. They can’t check livestock, they can’t tend land, they can’t operate day-to-day. The impact is instant and severe.”

He believes tackling the problem requires far closer co-operation between Police Scotland and forces across the rest of the UK with a ‘joined-up cross-border response’, pointing out that criminals are operating UK-wide

The MSP also wants better built-in security on agricultural machinery—such as immobilisers and forensic marking—to deter theft and improve recovery rates, as in England.

“Elsewhere in the UK, preventative action is being taken—and it’s working. Here, we are still lagging behind, and that is creating opportunity for criminals,” he added.

“The rest of the UK is taking decisive action and seeing results—Scotland isn’t.”

“If ministers don’t act now, this gap will widen even further, and it will be rural Scotland that suffers the consequences.”