They may well steal pastoral equipment (6)
I believe the answer is:
crooks
'they' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are plural nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'well steal pastoral equipment' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'well' could be 'ok' (synonyms) and 'ok' is found in the answer.
'equipment' could be 'cro' (CRO is an example) and 'cro' is present in the answer.
A single letter 's' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'may' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for crooks that I've seen before include "taken in hand by bishops" , "shepherds lay hold of" , "Cheats" , "Criminals and bishops' staves" , "Bad guys" .)