Tag: Rural Crime

Tip for farm crime prevention

22nd October 2020 / admin / Comments Off

When winter is approaching and clocks go back an hour as British Summer Time officially ends, it is a good time for farmers to review their security.

Farms in the autumn and winter months are dark and secluded places and can prove an inviting target for thieves who will be looking to steal farm vehicles, fuel, tools and equipment.

Statistically, October and November are the two months of the year when police receive more reports of burglary than at any other time.

With their isolated countryside locations, farmhouses, outbuildings, barns, garages and sheds are all prey for would-be rural thieves, who use modern technology including drones, Google Earth and sat navs to pinpoint their entry and escape routes.

But there are a variety of measures you can take to protect your property, land and livestock and discourage potential thieves.

Fuel

Fuel thieves often target farms under the cover of darkness when they are able to drain tanks within minutes if they are not properly protected.

Thieves use anything from basic plastic tubes to pumping apparatus to siphon off hundreds of litres of red diesel from tanks and farm machinery, causing huge financial loss and inconvenience for farmers.

Tip

To prevent theft, fit fuel bowsers with wheel clamps or hitch locks. Tanks should be housed in a secure location – within a shed (in line with regulations) or in a compound, such as a locked metal cage.

Consider fitting a remote fuel monitoring gauge and alarm system. Install movement sensors, CCTV and lighting around the tank.

Store machinery inside sheds using layers of security and ensure tractors are locked up at night. If machines must be kept outside, park with fuel caps against a fence or wall.

Lighting and CCTV cameras

Isolated farm buildings down dark lanes are easy for thieves to approach and hide in the darkness. Make sure you light up areas in and around your home and buildings.

Tip

Motion-sensor security lighting and CCTV cameras are a good crime prevention and detection tool. Thieves don’t want to be seen.

Install lighting and CCTV in access locations, vulnerable areas and around the perimeter of farm buildings, yards and houses. Consider audible and monitored intruder alarm systems.

With improving technology in this area and a reduction in the cost of CCTV systems, they can be bought for fairly modest sums. Many suppliers offer subscription services with text alert systems linked to mobile phones, tablets or computers, allowing you to monitor the farm 24/7 from anywhere in the world.

Farmers are embracing new technology involving infrared beams that set off voice warning systems and relay live footage to mobile phones.

Tips for protecting your farm against rural crime

31st July 2019 / admin / Comments Off

As the cost of rural crime continues to soar, it’s important that farmers take steps to secure their valuables from criminals.

Agricultural crime is a widespread problem faced by farmers up and down the country. Criminals and organised gangs target farms due to their large size and remote location, stealing valuable farm tools, equipment, vehicles and even livestock, with devastating consequences for farmers during what is already a difficult time for the industry.

Take these five basic steps to help prevent your farm from becoming a victim of rural crime.

Lock all valuables away securely– All valuables including tools, equipment, machinery and vehicles should be locked away out of sight when not in use. Large machinery and vehicles should be kept in secure farm buildings, and valuable tools should be kept in a locked toolbox. To ensure that they are secure, farm buildings should be regularly maintained, and doors and windows should be kept closed and locked to prevent easy access and protect from opportunist criminals.

Install security systems to all farm buildings– Farm buildings that contain valuables should be fitted with security lights and systems including CCTV and intruder alarms to deter criminals.

Mark and register all your valuable machinery, equipment and vehicles– Clearly marking all your valuable assets can deter criminals and improve the chances of your items being identified and returned to you if they are ever stolen. There are a variety of different marking solutions available including UV marking pens, engraving, etching, and labels. Once you have marked your property, register it on the Immobilise website. Immobilise is used by police forces up and down the country to return stolen items to their rightful owners.

Immobilise or lock vehicles– Immobilise farm vehicles using wheel clamps, steering locks or ground anchors when they are not in use to make them more difficult to steal.

Secure boundaries– The remote location of many farms leaves them particularly vulnerable to criminals. Securing your boundaries and making access difficult using high fences, earth banks and ditches, or reinforced gates can make your property more private and secure to deter criminals.

Security systems, durable gating and heavy duty padlocks are all relatively small investments when you consider what is at stake without them.

If you require agricultural financeto help replace stolen farm equipment or vehicles, get in touch with our team here at Richmond Asset Finance by calling 0113 288 3277 to discuss your requirements.

Looking for Alternative Tractor Finance?

25th February 2019 / admin / Comments Off

Here’s How Farm Finance Can Help

Growing a farm business much like any other business is no easy task if a business lacks the finance to fund growth. For these farms it is almost inevitable that financial help will be required at some point to grow the business.

Tractors are a critical component in the day to day running of a farm and one of its most important pieces of machinery. An unreliable or outdated tractor can impact on productivity and efficiency as well as cost the business money much as the opposite is true if you are purchasing a good, reliable up to date model.

A tractor can cost in excess of £250,000 which is a substantial sum for any business and even standard models can cost in the region of £80,000. So, like any investment decision, buying a tractor will require a careful assessment of the improvements it is likely to bring to the business and how it will impact on the bottom line.

Tractor purchases can be made in the form of lease or HP arrangements that provide farm business with a more flexible way to purchase machinery they need. Even if the business has sufficient finance to purchase these machines outright it, asset finance can still offer flexibility and help protect funds for a rainy day.

Rural Crime

6th March 2014 / admin / Comments Off

National rural crime plan launched to protect communities

TWO of Britain’s largest national crime-fighting organisations have joined forces to crack down on rural criminals.

Launching the initiative between Crimestoppers and the Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network at the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) rural crime conference in Birmingham today (Wednesday), Crimestoppers chief executive Mark Hallas said a ‘coalition approach’ was needed to tackle the growing problem.

The campaign will focus on raising awareness of rural crime, the signs to look out for and how information can be passed to Crimestoppers anonymously. It will be the first time that both charities have worked together nationally to tackle crime directly.

Rural crime costs the farming industry millions of pounds each year.

Mr Hallas, said: “Crime within the rural communities is a prevalent issue that should not be ignored and should instead be tackled by those who can help bring the number of incidents down.

“Crimestoppers is committed to supporting those affected by rural crime and we hope that by pairing up with our partner organisations, and with the help of the public, we can start to bring those responsible to justice.”

Both organisations, the police, public and businesses, including farmers, will share information via a national website and communication system called Rural Alert, an addition to the national database and communication system Neighbourhood Alert, used by the Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network.

Jim Maddan, Chairman for the Neighbourhood and Home Watch Network, added: “As technology advances so do criminals and we need to work together to be one step ahead. Criminals do not stop committing crime because they are travelling into another county or police force area.

“By adopting a national approach, boundaries disappear and information becomes more apparent. By sharing the information on what we do know about this type of crime, the public and businesses can really have an impact on helping the police to catch the small minority of people affecting many rural communities”.

The Neighbourhood Alert system is used by 10 police forces as well as several Fire and Rescue Services, Resilience Forums and local authorities.

Hundreds of thousands of people have registered for free via one of the 70 sites that use the Alert system.

In the last year over 20,000 farmers have joined a Farm or Country Watch website powered by Alert.

Rural Alert gives farmers and any rural community the opportunity to register free of charge, receive messages and report information.

For more information visit www.ourwatch.org.uk

[Farmers Guardian]

Website helps farmers in fight against rural crime

22nd October 2013 / admin / Comments Off

The Ulster Farmers’ Union has welcomed the launch of a new rural crime website

www.thefarmnet.com aimed at helping farmers quickly raise the alarm about stolen goods via digital and social media.

UFU Deputy President Barclay Bell said: “Rural crime continues to be a significant issue for farmers. The unfortunate reality is that farmers and producers throughout the island of Ireland are having valuable livestock and machinery stolen on a regular basis which has a devastating impact on farm families and businesses. There is evidence that one of the most powerful tools in fighting and preventing crime is communication and the new website www.thefarmnet.com has been designed to create a network of communications using web and smartphone technology.

“We suspect that many items are being ‘stolen to order’ and that there is a very real issue of items being stolen in Northern Ireland and then crossing the border into the Republic of Ireland and vice versa. There is evidence that often stolen items are stored for a while before possibly being shipped out of the country. It stands to reason, that this storage period presents the best window of opportunity for recovery, which is why it is vitally important to raise awareness of stolen goods as quickly and as widely as possible.

Cross Border

“The beauty of the Farmnet website is that it takes a cross border approach which, given that there is undeniable evidence of movement of stolen goods between North and South, means that farmers can raise the alarm and reach a large audience quickly. It also complements local rural text alert schemes and allows information to be shared without individuals being bombarded by text messages.”

The website is very easy to access and easy to use. Farmers throughout the island of Ireland can log onto the blog site and enter details of stolen items at anytime of the day or night to tell the entire rural community what they have lost. The website is easily viewed on a computer, tablet or smartphone.

These details can include a photograph, any distinctive markings or numbers and when and where the stolen property was last seen. The information can be viewed by all users who register and all entries are automatically posted to The Farmnet Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Anyone who believes they have seen any suspicious activity, such as vehicles and livestock being moved, can add their comment. Historic thefts can be put on retrospectively to encourage reports of possible sightings and share information after the incident.

There are also a number of recovered items in storage which need to be returned to their owners and the site will carry details of any unidentified property which is currently held by authorities.

Barclay Bell concluded: “The Farmnet website allows farmers to take advantage of advances in technology and become part of a virtual anti-crime network. The Ulster Farmers’ Union continues to work with the PSNI, NFU Mutual and other stakeholders to address this important issue and this new website is another useful tool to have in our rural crime fighting arsenal.”