NCJ Number
200378
Date Published
January 2003
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Recognizing the importance of livestock theft in Australasia is the subject of this document from the Australasian Centre for Policing Research.
Abstract
Livestock theft in New South Wales as a significant rural crime. This article examines a series of potential strategies for law enforcement in the area of agricultural crime. Profiling livestock theft, the author details the types of livestock stolen in Australia, including cattle and sheep, and argues that most incidents of livestock theft occur by individuals who live nearby. Focusing on policing issues concerning livestock theft, the author cites low reporting rates and impediments to investigation such as a lack of community support in contributing to the difficulty of persecuting livestock thieves. In order to improve the policing of livestock theft, communities need to implement improved knowledge sharing, agricultural training for police officers, and improving stock identification and movement techniques. Livestock theft needs to be identified as both a local and a cross-jurisdictional issue in order to increase farmers' reporting rates for livestock theft and enhance the system of communication among police officers to render better police management of the problem. References