The Ministry of Interior has deployed, with immediate effect, 275 Guardia Civil officers to serve in 55 teams dedicated solely to combating rural thefts, which last year amounted to 15,234 offences.
The main objective is to increase security for farms and ranches through continuous monitoring, especially in Valencia, Sevilla, Almería and Toledo, the provinces most affected by such thefts.
In 2012 there were 15,234 crimes reported, with 71% of these occurring in 15 provinces throughout the country, most notably in Castilla y León, Castilla La-Mancha, Andalucía, Extremadura and Valencia.
In 2011 there were 1,170 arrests for thefts from farms. In 2012 the figure was 1,889 and up to August 2013 the total is 1,489.