Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Justice to detail any consideration she is giving to addressing agricultural equipment theft by introducing legislation similar to the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 in England and Wales.
Minister of Justice: A partnership approach is central to addressing crime, including agricultural crime. My Department chairs the Rural Crime Partnership with members including the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Ulster Farmers’ Union, NFU Mutual, the Young Farmers’ Club of Ulster, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs and Policing and Community Safety Partnerships.
The partnership shares information on emerging or reoccurring crimes, and will continue to do so, to support a coordinated response and preventative approach to addressing issues such as agricultural equipment theft.
The Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 in England and Wales primarily aims to prevent the theft of commercial or agricultural equipment by requiring specified equipment to be fitted with an immobiliser or a visible marking, and a power to make regulations on the recording of sales of such equipment.
Following devolution of justice matters in 2010, authority for the development and introduction of criminal and civil offences and penalties was devolved to each Northern Ireland Assembly Department. It, therefore, falls to the Department owning the overarching policy area to consider whether there are gaps in the law or amendments required to existing legislation and, where that is the case, responsibility for any subsequent legislative changes remains the responsibility of that Department. It follows that it would be open to the Department for the Economy to provide details of any specific policies that have been established to support the sale/resale of equipment, regardless of whether it is for agricultural or commercial purposes.
In that context, as Minister of Justice, I do not have any plans to introduce similar legislation to that identified; however, my officials would, of course, be willing to assist any other Executive department with regards the appropriateness of any penalties attached to such offences as they may wish to create.
ENDS
Your MLA 