Farm Burglaries - Checking Out The Ground ?
Discussion
I live on a Farm, CCTV caught someone at 3am and it seems a bit weird so could any Police comment
They got around the back of the house - which takes some doing, either jumping 6'+ fencing or going through hawthorne hedges plus I'm surrounded by fields on 3 sides and a busy road on the other
They had a really powerful torch which seems strange if they don't want to draw attention
Instead of just checking out the barns which are approx 100m from the house they came right up to the kitchen doors - not sure why the dogs didn't bark
It turns out I hadn't closed the door on one barn - containing chainsaws etc yet nothing was taken.
I don't have expensive cars but there are 4+ on the drive, they and all my tractors are old so they wouldn't be drawn in to a high value object, they would also expect there to be people and dogs around so coming right up to the back doors (a wall of glass) seems particularly strange.
Bearing in mind the above, to then not steal the chainsaws (at least £1,000 worth) seems odd
Or do they just send in one guy armed with a torch to check it out before they come back prepared ?
I have messaged my neighbours but they are all some distance away
They got around the back of the house - which takes some doing, either jumping 6'+ fencing or going through hawthorne hedges plus I'm surrounded by fields on 3 sides and a busy road on the other
They had a really powerful torch which seems strange if they don't want to draw attention
Instead of just checking out the barns which are approx 100m from the house they came right up to the kitchen doors - not sure why the dogs didn't bark
It turns out I hadn't closed the door on one barn - containing chainsaws etc yet nothing was taken.
I don't have expensive cars but there are 4+ on the drive, they and all my tractors are old so they wouldn't be drawn in to a high value object, they would also expect there to be people and dogs around so coming right up to the back doors (a wall of glass) seems particularly strange.
Bearing in mind the above, to then not steal the chainsaws (at least £1,000 worth) seems odd
Or do they just send in one guy armed with a torch to check it out before they come back prepared ?
I have messaged my neighbours but they are all some distance away
I'm not police, but I would suggest keeping closer supervision over your dog's for a while.
In my area there have been instances of nomadic folk of Irish heritage scoping out properties with dogs and cats to steal.
We had one scoping out our property, seemed interested by the cat flap. My SIL found one trying to lift her pooch over the front gate (he never goes out unsupervised now). There have been other local incidents of attempted dog nappings, and unexplained disappearances that are best explained by napping...
In my area there have been instances of nomadic folk of Irish heritage scoping out properties with dogs and cats to steal.
We had one scoping out our property, seemed interested by the cat flap. My SIL found one trying to lift her pooch over the front gate (he never goes out unsupervised now). There have been other local incidents of attempted dog nappings, and unexplained disappearances that are best explained by napping...
I don’t know where you are,but worthy of reporting as (you are no doubt aware) rural crime is hugeThey may be just seeing what machinery you have,prior to a revisit.May be of use...
https://www.nationalruralcrimenetwork.net/best-pra...
https://www.nationalruralcrimenetwork.net/best-pra...
Definitively a man with a powerful torch.
Currently adding security to buildings, have spoken to 101 but they were (as expected) useless as you can't talk to a local officer.
Problem is if I move the high value stuff to the front garages, they are easier to break into when I'm not here.
I have a telehandler (the cash point removing, tool of choice) but it's old and takes me 30 mins to start the damn thing so they'd have no chance.
Currently adding security to buildings, have spoken to 101 but they were (as expected) useless as you can't talk to a local officer.
Problem is if I move the high value stuff to the front garages, they are easier to break into when I'm not here.
I have a telehandler (the cash point removing, tool of choice) but it's old and takes me 30 mins to start the damn thing so they'd have no chance.
Some of my family are farmers and recently had a quad nicked. Looking at the CCTV, the thieves walked through the fields to look round 3 times before they actually took anything.
They rolled the quad down the hill and onto the back of a van for it never to be seen again although they did find the van. Someone in a nearby village had reported an unknown van parked up and it had some of the things from the quad in the back. May be worth letting the local people know so they can report anything suspicious.
They rolled the quad down the hill and onto the back of a van for it never to be seen again although they did find the van. Someone in a nearby village had reported an unknown van parked up and it had some of the things from the quad in the back. May be worth letting the local people know so they can report anything suspicious.
We live in a similar remote area and this MO is fairly well known.
This bloke is looking for stuff, not nicking it. If caught, he’ll be lost / looking for his dog / child / parent with dementia / whatever. If he realises that you have good gear, he will be back with his mates and a lorry at a later stage.
It’s a pity your dogs didn’t wake up, they don’t much like dogs. Gravel is good in this respect, our dogs go garrity when they hear crunching gravel.
We have CCTV in 2 layers. There’s the really f.off obvious stuff (visible and with IR illuminators) for deterrence. There is also the non obvious stuff with longer wavelength (invisible) illuminators. But they will probably be wearing balaclavas anyway.
All you can do is tighten security and make it b
d awkward to nick stuff. Big steel box for the chainsaws and disc cutters. Containers are good for this - easy to lock, and farms generally have loads kicking around. If they’re all locked, they’ll spend ages breaking into the wrong ones. Park a big bit of hard to move kit in front of the barn doors. Make it hard to get transport in and out without you knowing - some mates have installed electric (sliding, one piece) gates that automatically close at 21:00 - you can open them with an app or text message, but you can’t “forget” to shut the place down.
Certainly in our area, this comes in waves - everyone gets done over the course of a month, then it is quiet for a few years. Check with neighbours.
Two other related comments. If you have CCTV, make sure you can view it on your phone when away from home. Thus if it does ping you, you can call the police and tell them a burglary is in progress and they might show up. If you want a faster response from the police I can recommend getting a firearms ticket. They appear like greased bloody lighting for us, whereas the neighbours seem to be on the “low priority” list.
This bloke is looking for stuff, not nicking it. If caught, he’ll be lost / looking for his dog / child / parent with dementia / whatever. If he realises that you have good gear, he will be back with his mates and a lorry at a later stage.
It’s a pity your dogs didn’t wake up, they don’t much like dogs. Gravel is good in this respect, our dogs go garrity when they hear crunching gravel.
We have CCTV in 2 layers. There’s the really f.off obvious stuff (visible and with IR illuminators) for deterrence. There is also the non obvious stuff with longer wavelength (invisible) illuminators. But they will probably be wearing balaclavas anyway.
All you can do is tighten security and make it b
d awkward to nick stuff. Big steel box for the chainsaws and disc cutters. Containers are good for this - easy to lock, and farms generally have loads kicking around. If they’re all locked, they’ll spend ages breaking into the wrong ones. Park a big bit of hard to move kit in front of the barn doors. Make it hard to get transport in and out without you knowing - some mates have installed electric (sliding, one piece) gates that automatically close at 21:00 - you can open them with an app or text message, but you can’t “forget” to shut the place down. Certainly in our area, this comes in waves - everyone gets done over the course of a month, then it is quiet for a few years. Check with neighbours.
Two other related comments. If you have CCTV, make sure you can view it on your phone when away from home. Thus if it does ping you, you can call the police and tell them a burglary is in progress and they might show up. If you want a faster response from the police I can recommend getting a firearms ticket. They appear like greased bloody lighting for us, whereas the neighbours seem to be on the “low priority” list.
Edited by rxe on Friday 22 November 18:12
First thing I thought was https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bisley-Security-Burglars-... if you are able to set a couple up where they won’t see them but will st them up & alert you
t them up & alert you 
A few years back there was an influx of Nomadic friends in our area and rural robberies went through the roof. We put all valuables, knickable items in one barn, Quads, defender, chainsaws, tools etc. We then parked a tractor across the door and chained a very friendly dog to the front of the tractor. Jack, he was a huge Rottweiler who had been trained for the job. Looking back he could have easily been drugged but he would bark at everything so anyone would have done well to get remotely near.
I have alarm trip wires but they are a bit of a pain with the dogs
I don't want to leave the dogs out in case they get hurt (liver and fish hooks was the old trick)
I have moved some stuff up to the front garages - the problem is that they are the most vulnerable to a quick ram raid, it's a lot harder to get around the back, more so to get out laden with swag.
The annoying thing is I don't know where they got in, so I don't know where to re enforce
I don't want to leave the dogs out in case they get hurt (liver and fish hooks was the old trick)
I have moved some stuff up to the front garages - the problem is that they are the most vulnerable to a quick ram raid, it's a lot harder to get around the back, more so to get out laden with swag.
The annoying thing is I don't know where they got in, so I don't know where to re enforce
I would suggest looking at CCTV which can do analytics, hooked up to a remote station - the systems available now are amazing.
Umbo Computer Vision would be one to look at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi8uOO3cfHc
I've had a demo of this at work as we're looking at it to replace an older system, and it looks really good. Essentially you can setup "lines" on the camera and if a object matching a person crosses that, it can sound an alarm.
Umbo Computer Vision would be one to look at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi8uOO3cfHc
I've had a demo of this at work as we're looking at it to replace an older system, and it looks really good. Essentially you can setup "lines" on the camera and if a object matching a person crosses that, it can sound an alarm.
Do what vaud suggests. You should be able to find your local team off the police website. I worked in our Ops room and we could leave messages for the team (officers and PCSO) . We had a HUGE rural area and got lots of calls re suspicious vehicles/people seemingly checking out farms etc. Do you have a network of local farms set up to let each other know of suspicious vehicles/ incidents? Your local neighbourhood team/ rural specialists/ wildlife specialist officers etc will be proactive.
As above, go and talk to the local plod - they will have a few guys covering a wide area, but a heads up might get them nearer to you when/if you get a repeat visit.
Also worth creating a group chat on whatsapp or similar for you and your neighbouring farms/dwellings. (We are in a similar sort of location, so anything to raise general awareness is a positive)
Also worth creating a group chat on whatsapp or similar for you and your neighbouring farms/dwellings. (We are in a similar sort of location, so anything to raise general awareness is a positive)
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