Cost-effective methods for crime prevention.

If you live in a rural community barely a week goes by where there isn’t a story about a crime in the area.

It could be a dodgy-looking van appearing a little too frequently.

Perhaps a fly tip at the end of your lane.

Or someone’s lifted the ATV from the farm next door to you.

We’re not going to pretend that we’ve got a magic solution for stopping rural crime.

There isn’t one.

But you can make it as difficult as possible for them to run off with your stuff.

And not everything has to cost an arm and a leg.

So, here are some security improvements to keep your property safe.

Reduce Access
Keep an ear out
Toughen up your locks, doors and windows
Lock everything away
Move climbable objects from buildings
Mark your property
Install surveillance
Lighten the area.

Make Access More Difficult

Which do you think is the more attractive target?

A remote farm down a wiggly track or a property just off the main road?

If you live close to a main road, access to your property is very easy.

Not only is it easier to see what’s there, but a criminal gang can be in and out with your goods in no time.

So you’ll need to make it harder to get onto your property or at the very least, get to your stuff.

If you can afford to dig a moat around your property, go for it.

You’ll be the envy of the county. Who doesn’t want to live in a castle?

A simpler security method is to lock your gates. This will at the very least slow even the most persistent intruder.

Yes, it’s a faff.

Opening and closing padlocks each time you go through a gate is a pain. But it’ll be worth it.

Next, think about how people can access your property.

Are there access points through a wood or field?

Have you got any tracks leading onto your property?

If your tracks aren’t used, consider blocking them.

You could fell trees over them or put concrete blocks in the way.

By making them impassable you make unauthorised entry to your property much harder.

Make your security tougher

Improving the quality of locks on windows and doors is a great way to improve your security.

A bolt and a padlock may have worked for you in the past. But they can easily be removed if they’re fitted to the outside of a building.

And the older a lock and key the less secure it becomes.

Over time keys get handed out, lost, and remade. It’s difficult to keep track of how many of your keys are out there.

Updating your locks reduces the risk of an old key being used to access your property.

Advances in technology have made locks much more secure too.

Fobs and apps have replaced keys in many areas.

This is a more expensive option for updating your locks but more secure.

Fobbing in and out will let you keep track of who’s on your property at a time.

If a fob gets lost you can simply deactivate it. If it falls into the wrong hands, they can’t get onto your property.

Make sure it’s locked away

Living out in the sticks can make you complacent.

‘Who’s going to come all the way out here for a strimmer’?

Many of us have been guilty of thinking that.

As the cost-of-living rockets, people are willing to take greater risks and find new bits of kit to steal.

So, what was low reward in the past might now be worth a venture.

Strimmers, drills, chainsaws and lawnmowers are easier to lock away.

But what about tractors and bigger bits?

You can’t exactly stuff them in a cupboard.

This is where we circle back to our first point, make access to your property harder.

If your machinery is behind a locked gate, not left a field, it’ll be much harder to find and steal.

When a criminal struggles to get in. They’ll struggle to get out.

Make sure it’s not too easy

Leaving ladders leaning up against a building is a big advert saying ‘EASY TARGET’ to criminals.

The same applies to other things that can be jumped on to help someone hop over a fence or through a window.

Items like:

Ladders
Wheelie bins
Chairs & benches
Piles of rubble

If left out they'll make tall fences and buildings climbable.

Tidying up your property or putting things away seems like a chore at the time.

But they’ll stop an intruder sneaking their way onto your property.

Make your property yours and only yours

You’ve probably watched Toy Story, with your children or you grew up with it.

Andy always wrote his name on the feat of his toys.

So, when it got picked up somewhere, you would know it’s Andy’s.

You can do the same with your toys too.

Nobody wants to buy or own something that’s clearly stolen.

If you etch your name onto your chainsaws. They’ll be harder to resell if stolen.

Or at the very least reduce the payoff.

Is this a good deterrent?

That depends on how obviously you mark them.

Make it look risky

Criminals don’t set out thinking they’re going to get caught.

So if you increase the chance they’ll be seen they’ll think twice before making a move.

How?

Surveillance and signage.

Security cameras are one the most effective deterrents of rural crime.

Advances in technology mean you don’t need to sit in front of 30 monitors to see what’s going on.

You can be off on your jollies. Whilst your security cameras act as a 2^nd pair of eyes.

They’ll alert you if someone’s on your property when they shouldn’t be.

Depending on the camera you want one camera will be a better deterrent than the other.

Our 360 security cameras have a big imposing presence.

And when it starts tracking human movement, that’ll put anyone on edge.

Make it a bright area

There’s a good reason why crimes happen at night, it’s harder to be seen.

If your yard’s well lit, that’s a big deterrent for criminals.

We’re not saying that you should keep the lights on all night, that would cost a fortune.

But you could install motion sensors that flick the lights on when something passes by.

Light sensors are used on houses so you can get your key in your door.

So why not use them where you leave your machinery too?

Granted, it’s a more costly method.

But it’ll give criminals a heart attack when a light comes on unexpectantly.

Make Some Noise!

You live rurally.

You know what dogs are like when they hear something odd. Especially Collies.

They go bananas.

If someone is trying to get onto your property without being noticed, animals are a great early warning system.

So, keep your ears open. Your animals will know if someone is snooping about well before you will.

We’ve been in the security industry for a long time.

And if there’s one thing people always slip on, it’s the simple things.

We can all be lazy.

Guilty of saying, I’ll do it later.

Only to sit down for a brew and forget about it.

Better security doesn’t need to cost a fortune.

It can be improved no end by locking your equipment away and keeping your property tidy.

And that’s free!

If the basics are something you’re already good at, it’s time to improve your security.

And if you choose between improving your doors and locks, adding lighting, or installing security cameras.

Security cameras are the most cost-effective method when it comes to crime prevention.

A study found that security cameras and alarm systems were by far the most effective deterrents to breaking and entering.

Followed by the building being occupied by people.

If you’re interested in getting a security camera read this article and decide which security camera is best for you.