Lisburn & Castlereagh Policing & Community Safety Partnership (PCSP) and PSNI have launched a TrackerTM Initiative across the Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council area.
Protecting rural property and equipment today requires vigilance and an agile response. Criminals constantly change their targets and seek ways to defeat security measures. As every farm and rural property is unique, each requires an individual response combining physical security measures and hi-tech devices together with strong community links to stay aware of crime trends.
Increased use of tracking devices are assisting police recover more stolen property classified as thefts from rural property with a large portion of property stolen from farms such as quads and farming equipment having no registration plates and easy to transport. Criminal gangs are stealing this type of property and then leaving the items in an isolated location to ascertain if a police response is initiated by a Tracker device. Where a Tracker device is installed on a piece of equipment, the initial theft and delayed actions by the criminals, provides for a significant success rate in either stopping the theft or the criminals abandoning their enterprise.
This initiative is offering discount of £200 (two hundred pounds) towards the cost of a choice of two Tracker devices that includes either a three or five year tracking subscription for one vehicle/item of machinery. As there is a limited budget for this initiative it is based on a first come first served offer. To avail of this offer please contact PCSP Officers by emailing pcsp@lisburncastlereagh.gov.uk
Benefits of the initiative
The Chairman of Lisburn & Castlereagh PCSP, Cllr Michelle Guy commented, “This is a great initiative that gives residents living in our rural communities, the opportunity to safeguard valuable equipment by purchasing a tracker device at a heavily discounted price. I’m sure this will be a popular initiative and I encourage eligible residents from across Lisburn and Castlereagh to take advantage of the scheme.”
Lisburn & Castlereagh PSNI District Commander Superintendent Julie Mullan commented, “We are pleased to be able to work with Lisburn and Castlereagh PCSP to offer more in terms of crime prevention to the farming community. Farming matters, it is a cornerstone of our economy, and we are keen to support our farming community so they thrive and prosper.”
Superintendent Brian Kee, speaking on behalf of the Rural Crime Partnership commented, “We continue to work with our partners in supporting the farming community to prevent crime and bring offenders to justice. It is heartening to note that there was a fall in rural crime of 24% on the previous 12 months and continuing the downward trend seen since 2010/11. However, statistics only tell part of the story. They don’t account for the impact this type of crime can have on a farm business and a community, that’s why we continue to work with partners, such as Lisburn and Castlereagh PCSP to combat and deter criminals who seek to target the rural community.”
Pauline Nelmes, Track Kit Ltd, Tracker’s Northern Ireland distributor, commented, “Protecting assets has never been more important today with longer waiting times for new replacement machinery and increasing insurance costs so this initiative will be a welcomed support for owners who value their equipment, will help attract insurance discounts and ultimately give peace of mind they are protected. To date together with the PSNI we have recovered nearly £16m worth of vehicles fitted with our unique TrackerTM products here in the province.”
