Last week I spoke about general burglary prevention. This week I would like to discuss rural crime prevention.
The first point I would like make is that all suspicious events need to be reported. Especially in the rural space. The number of times I hear of an incident – and when speaking with other members of the community, they tell me of a suspicious event they had noticed but not reported. Often this information is relevant. I urge you to report any suspicious activity.
If you are on the farm and you decide to investigate suspicious activity, make sure you tell someone, if possible, take someone with you and make sure you take a phone. The ability to call for help or take a quick photo might just make the difference in apprehension.
Accurately tag your farm equipment and valuables. As I often say, we execute search warrants frequently and can check serial numbers. If something is recorded as stolen we can clear the burglary and recover property. Make your things hard to steal. Often farm bikes are taken
Did you know there’s a new innovation in farm bike technology? There are now keys that can be removed from farm bikes to make them harder to start.
A very important one for police is to make sure your firearms are stored in accordance with best practice. As firearms are getting harder to source, criminals are looking for easy ways to obtain them. Farms are a source in the underground trade of firearms.
Rural folk are a lot more in tune with who’s in the community. They know when someone is moving through. It’s more important than ever to stay in touch with each other and look out for each other
