Rural crime has long been an emotive issue for Scotland’s farmers, but there are growing concerns that opportunistic thefts are giving way to the activities of organised gangs.
Coupled with this, Police Scotland has come under fire for failing to provide a joined-up reporting and recording system to give an accurate picture of the instances of rural crime in the latest manifestation of the criticism that has followed the creation of the centralised force.
Needless to say, this is a suggestion Police Scotland hotly refutes, and did so when giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee.
In the same setting, Linlithgow farmer and NFU Scotland legal and technical committee chairman Jamie Smart raised a more sinister aspect of rural crime when he alleged he had been threatened on his own farm by an individual he questioned about wildlife crime.
This was allegedly followed by a suggestion that if Mr Smart were to report the incident, his farm buildings might be torched.
Such is the state of concern in some rural areas.
Hard facts confirm that rural crime cost the Scottish economy £1.9 million in 2013.
Meanwhile there are indications that in addition to machinery and tool thefts cattle rustling is on the rise, with 26 incidences last year.
Remnants of sheep and deer have been found in Fife with only the carcase taken, suggesting a shady, if specific market at work.
NFU Mutual has identified livestock rustling as an emerging crime across the UK with more than 4,200 animals, mainly sheep, reported stolen in Scotland in 2013.
Rural crime, solved or not, is causing increasing concern as the evidence given to the Justice Committee illustrated.
There is a growing sense of vulnerability, compounded by the apparent threat described by Mr Smart.
And yet farmers are not lacking in vigilance. Farm Watch schemes have a long and credible history and are in operation in Angus, Perth, Fife and Aberdeenshire.
NFU Mutual has done much to raise awareness of the need to take precautions by encouraging the installation of CCTV systems, sound and motion detectors, and machinery immobilisers.
In addition, a highly professional and innovative approach in the form of the SmartWater DNA system is in place. The Smart system of unique tracers does not stop rural theft, but it means vehicles and equipment can be identified and the risk of further trading reduced.
These are invaluable tools in the armoury against rural crime, but its nature is increasingly suggestive of highly organised crime networks.
Large-value stolen items are heading towards Europe and into Afghanistan and Africa, and items such as quad bikes are particularly targeted.
Thieves are on the lookout for expensive kit, and they are clearly targeting their victims with precision.
Tackling this level of crime is challenging. Police Scotland insists it is now in a better position to identify the scale and depth of rural crime, backed up by a coordinated central support system.
This assertion is not convincing for many farmers.
But how to deal with what has become a situation that is costing rural Scotland just under £2 million a year and, in some cases, resulting in individuals being frightened to report crime for fear of repercussions, is a serious matter.
Rolling out a national schema akin to the Farm Watch model would go some way to making rural communities feel safer, and provide a useful reporting system which could, over time, see a drop in the amount of rural crime.
But it would be expensive, and none of the agencies involved in fighting rural crime would have the resources in the current financial climate.
Nevertheless, that is something the Justice Committee could give some thought as it takes more evidence on an issue that shows no signs of going away.
There is also an element of historical context. In one of the great works of Scottish history, The Drove Roads Of Scotland, ARB Haldane said it almost seemed cattle raiding was the chief occupation of the people of Scotland in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Crime is not new to rural Scotland. It has been part of its history and culture for centuries; Scotland’s historical records provide a vivid testimony of such crimes and their punishment.