Rural Crime – How Safe is Your Property?

It’s a fact that people living in rural Ireland are concerned about their own safety and the safety of their property especially at this time of year.

With the closures of local Garda stations in recent years and stories of gangs travelling the country preying on rural dwellers it’s no wonder many of us are searching for ways to stay safe and protect our property.

There are over 2,000 thefts from farmyards reported each year in Ireland. While most thefts are from outhouses and sheds a large proportion are burglaries that occur in the farmhouse. There are always going to be break-ins, thefts and criminal activity but there are ways to make your property less attractive to intruders.

The Common Sense Approach

The old advice of ensuring that all doors and windows are securing locked still holds true. Restricting access to your property by having a locked gate is a great start, but installing automatic gates that will remain closed until you access them yourself or allow a visitor to enter are a much better deterrent.

Recording your property with images and ID numbers is helpful when trying to recover stolen goods. Securing tools and not leaving ladders lying around is important while good neighbours and community alert schemes do a lot to reduce the likelihood of criminal activity.

While all this is great advice, we at Northwood Technology we are great believers in using the latest technology to deter the criminals.

Number Plate Recording

ANPR is the latest technology from Northwood Technology to help combat Rural Crime.

These new cameras have a specialist ‘Number Plate Recording’ technology that can capture images from vehicles moving at speeds in excess of 80 kilometres per hour. This is invaluable in the fight against crime as images can be captured when the criminals are traveling at high speeds even in total darkness. Intelligence gathered in this way can prove vital to community leaders and An Garda Siochana when investigating criminality in rural areas.

When strategically located these cameras can form a protective ring around rural townlands and communities. This latest technology is wireless so the cameras can communicate to central locations with important data or even use GSM technology to send messages.

There is the ability for them to form part of a bigger system to include small towns also. The cameras can be linked to where they are needed most, such as local community buildings or Garda Stations for best results. Overview cameras can also be provided to give descriptive details on vehicle and even sometimes images of the persons driving.

At Northwood Technology we know about security and the lengths that criminals will go to in order to get what they want. We distribute the best products in the market to highly qualified professional installers. From number plate recognition technology, CCTV cameras, security lights, automatic gate openers, alarms and monitors we have the products designed to keep you safe. We can put you in touch with a local installer who can advise you on what you need to do to ensure your farm or rural home is securely against intruders. Call us today on 01 8601880