Machinery Chatter

Don't be a Victim of Rural Crime

Russ Quinn
By  Russ Quinn , DTN Staff Reporter
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Dealing with crime is just a fact of life for most, and while living in a rural area might lessen your chances of being a victim, many rural people have had crime invade their lives. Most likely the crime came in the form of burglary, theft or vandalism.

Growing up on a farm near a larger city (Omaha), my family had our fair share of issues with criminals over the years. We had an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) stolen right out from one of our farm buildings, a couple issues with vandalism and several incidents of people illegally dumping garage and/or trespassing in our fields.

My all-time "favorite" had to be the time someone tore off a wooden porch from a house and dumped it in two halves at the entrance of the one of our fields several years ago. After cleaning up someone else's garage, we set wood posts and bought metal gates to prevent anyone else from doing that again.

In every incident the county sheriff was called, a report was taken but those responsible for the crimes were never caught. The crimes occurred mostly likely in the middle of night with one was around to witness it.

So maybe the key to rural crime is to prevent it from happening in the first place because the chances anyone will ever be caught are extremely low.

According to University of Missouri Extension, one of the most effective crime prevention measures in rural areas is establishing a neighborhood organization to watch over rural properties similar to neighborhood watch programs in town. The UM report can be found at http://extension.missouri.edu/….

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Groups like this should report suspicious persons and vehicles to law enforcement officials. In addition, mark personal property most likely to be taken by thieves. If it is stolen and then recovered, it can be returned to the owner and the thief can be prosecuted and convicted.

"Experience has shown that the three steps (organization, reporting and marking of properties) can sharply reduce the amount of criminal activity in rural areas," the report stated.

Beyond organizations like this, individuals also need to minimize the chances of becoming targets of thieves and vandals.

At the website http://www.cloudcountyks.org/…, the north-central Kansas county lists rural crime-prevention tips. Among the helpful tips would be to lock outside doors with deadbolt locks, keep grounds well lit as thieves hate bright lights, secure all roads with gates or cables between posts cemented in the ground and post "No Trespassing" signs.

The website also had a section on protecting livestock and crops. With the price of cattle near all-time record highs, reports of cattle rustling has increased in recent years.

"To stop modern rustlers, tattoo all livestock (usually in the ears)," the website said. "Mark young stock soon after birth. Take regular counts of all livestock."

For stored crops protect these structures with locks. Consider marking grain, hay or similar crops with nontoxic confetti that is easily removed by storage or processing facilities, according to the website.

I will be honest here, I have never heard of this option. I do know many farmers and rural law enforcement officials are turning to newer technology to help catch bad guys.

A couple of years ago, I wrote an article about a family friend having round bales of alfalfa stolen from fields outside of Omaha. I ended up interviewing a sheriff from a rural Oklahoma county who had an epidemic of hay thieves.

So finally he bought a GPS wireless receiver and put it in a hay bale and waited. Finally, many weeks later in the middle of the night, the receiver sent a signal to his cell phone and computer that the bale was on the move. With the help of a deputy telling him where the bale was moving, this lawman caught the hay thieves in the act. The criminals were convicted and were sentenced to jail time.

Now THAT is modern-day rural justice.

(AG)

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Russ Quinn