According to a press release sent to the newsroom, the operation's objective is to bring awareness, patrolling, and inspection of agricultural and forestry farms throughout the national territory, in order to repress the practice of crimes of theft of agricultural products and machinery, crimes of Human Trafficking in the workplace and prevent the occurrence of accidents with agricultural and forestry vehicles or machinery.
During the operation, the GNR intends to raise awareness among the population in general and the rural population in particular, for the adoption of behaviors that can prevent possible criminal offenses, namely the theft of agricultural products and machinery and the theft of non-precious metals; identify possible situations of exploitation in the context of work, namely those that may be related to Trafficking in Human Beings and also, raise awareness on safely driving agricultural and forestry vehicles and avoiding accidents.
In this way, patrol and inspection actions will be intensified in view of the seasonality of agricultural and forestry crops in each region, directing them to the places, days, and times of greatest risk, taking into account the history of theft, and control and inspection actions will also be developed to control and supervise the transport of agricultural and forestry products at the crossing points of the land border, in coordination with the Guardia Civil to tackle cross-border crime.
Awareness-raising and information actions are also carried out with owners, and local and regional entities associated with farms to promote the dissemination of advice with a view to adopting behaviours that prevent theft.
Thus, the GNR recalls that the harvesting or harvesting of agricultural or fruit products, even if they are lying on the ground, without the owner's consent, may constitute a crime against property.
Regarding accidents involving agricultural vehicles, in 2023 there were 602 accidents, with 40 fatalities, 65 serious injuries and 224 minor injuries to be regretted, so during the operation, awareness actions aimed at users of tractors and agricultural machinery will be reinforced, with the aim of enforcing safety rules and preventing the occurrence of accidents when maneuvering agricultural and forestry vehicles/machinery.
It should be noted that, during 2023, 1,011 awareness-raising actions were carried out, reaching 8,638 people.