With some recent cases of stolen items and vehicles around the southeast one detachment is taking the time to give some tips for people to prevent thefts on rural properties.
Constable Gary Christopher, from the Coronach/Bengough detachment, talks about some of the simple ways rural people can keep their possessions secure.
"We just asked simple things like lock and secure your home, businesses, outbuildings, and even slip tanks. Keep your property well-lit and install monitor security lights or timer lights that turn on at sundown to discourage trespassers, consider installing a monitored security or alarm system."
"Transport hay bales and livestock to locations where monitoring can happen if possible. Move all equipment indoors, if that's not possible, store it in a well-lit area visible from your house and out of sight from the main roads and keep an inventory of your equipment that includes descriptions, serial numbers, makes, models, pictures and VIN numbers as well."
Christopher also gave advice for vehicle safety, some of which can apply to more urban areas as well.
"I know a lot of people leave spare change in the center console, so just avoid leaving valuables in the vehicles. Spare change can make it a possible target. It's not enough to put your keys or valuables in the cup holder or behind a visor, you must remove them from your vehicle and lock the doors. Always remember to remove your garage door opener from your vehicle because if it's stolen, it can mean somebody has access to everything inside your garage and your home if it is attached."
"Avoid idling in an unoccupied vehicle. Install an anti-theft system if your vehicle does not have one or use one of those steering wheel locks to deter thieves. Remove all portable items, tools, GPS, and radios from inside your machinery, as these are very attractive to thieves. If you can't remove some of these items, record their serial numbers again, mark them and take pictures of them so they can be identified if they are stolen and recovered. Finally, walk around and check tractors, combines and other machinery regularly for signs of break-ins or damage."
As the threat of break-ins is always present, Christopher says that people should make sure they keep the RCMP up-to-date.
"We just want rural property owners to report anything suspicious, report crimes, even if they're small. That way we can kind of get a clearer picture of the types of numbers of crimes occurring in our area, and this information also helps us launch future police projects, initiatives and education campaigns."