WHETHER it is a big, small or medium sized agricultural business, there is always plenty of stuff to steal. But as technology and connectivity improves there are also plenty of ways to make it harder for thieves targeting rural property.

John Hill from Land Watch

Thieves are constantly finding more sophisticated ways of invading properties, flying drones or studying properties through Google Earth. They also have plenty of avenues to sell the stolen goods.

With crime becoming a more well-known issue in the agricultural industry, the Australian Brahman Breeders’ Association hosted John Hill from a company called Land Watch, which fits out properties with cameras designed to detect and deter criminals.

He ran the crowd through some of the current trends in rural crime and shared some of his tips to mitigate the potential of thieves coming onto properties. Beef Central has gathered five of the main themes of his speech.

Deterrence is key

The main message from Mr Hill was to focus on deterring would-be criminals from coming onto the property, with a strong presence at the front gate. He said it was important to make sure that cameras on front-gates are a visible presence.

“We put cameras at the front-gates with sirens, flashing lights and microphones that you can speak through and yell at people,” he said.

“We don’t ever hide cameras. If someone comes to us and says I have a certain budget, then we will put most of that budget into front gate. Purely because it is a deterrent and if someone is driving up and down that road and they see that camera then they are going to go next door.”

Mr hill said there was a phrase Police use called “target hardening”, which is about making your property the hardest to enter.

“You don’t really need to be perfectly protected, you just want to appear to be harder to enter than next door,” he said.

He said there were also cases where entire areas were coming together with security cameras and other measures to stop crime, which had lowered overall crime rates.

“Where we have started to protect a lot of people in the one area, it becomes a bit of a community,” he said.

“Two doors down might get hit, but it is your camera that picks them up – so it becomes a bit of a neighbourhood watch where everyone looks out for each other.”

Knowing the vulnerabilities of your property

Mr Hill said one of the harsh realities of owning rural property was that there will always be valuable items behind the front gate that are worth stealing. He said it was a point thieves are aware of items that will be popular.

“I would hazard a guess that everyone in this room has a Landcruiser at home, a side-by-side buggy and I don’t even want to talk about the horses,” he said.

Mr Hill said fuel had become one of the hottest commodities for thieves.

“When you are paying $2.50 at the bowser, you can understand why someone who is a bit tight at the moment going for the fuel,” he said.

“We are seeing fuel being stolen in small amounts and big amounts. We have had 50,000 litres drained from a property. We have also seen fuel drained from a tractor that has been parked for a night.

“Unfortunately, if you lock the tank, you end up with stolen fuel and a damaged tank.”

Mr Hill said the Toyota Landcruiser always popular.

“Time and time again, I see Landcruiser and Dodge Ram parked side-by-side, both with the keys in the car and they are taking the Landcruiser every time,” he said.

“I think it is easier to flog them to someone else.”

Protect livestock infrastructure close to the road

With livestock theft, Mr Hill said it was important to keep an eye on yards and other infrastructure that was close to highways – with plenty of examples of livestock going missing overnight.

He used a particular example with a sheep producer in New Zealand, who had a laneway and a gate on a property near a town.

He said the laneway had become so popular for thieves that the local butcher had noticed lamb sales dropping. With cameras fitted and visible in the area, Mr Hill said the situation had changed.

“Since then, word has spread through the town that you don’t go to that laneway anymore,” he said.

Fitting the right cameras

One of the main points Mr Hill wanted to make is that cameras can be used as a deterrent for thieves. He emphasised the importance of making them visible, particularly at entrances to the property.

He said that when cameras are fitted at the house or shed, rather than the entrance, thieves had made their decision and it was too late to deter them.

“Their adrenaline is already running and all you are getting is recorded footage of them. You have still lost something,” he said.

With cameras at the front gate, he said the best option was to have the capability to read number plates.

He said cameras good enough to recognise number plates needed to be big.

With cameras set up to provide surveillance for areas like fuel tanks and cattle, he said smaller fixed cameras often did the job.

Connectivity not an issue

Mr Hill said with the introduction of Starlink (low orbit satellite connectivity) and other technology adding competition to connectivity, there were plenty of low-cost options for fitting cameras in remote areas.

Wireless links are also become more feasible, meaning internet can be fitted at a house and that service linked across properties – which can be used to connect cameras.

Mr Hill said it was important to have the footage feeding back to a central point.

“If you have a camera in a remote area, anyone with a shotgun or an angle grinder can destroy it. But if you have a two-way-street lined up, you can have that footage already stored,” he said.

“Distance is not an issue.”