Connacht Tribune
Farmers advised not to be lax on security
COMMON sense and ‘good neighbours’ can be the best security measures for farmers and rural dwellers, an IFA meeting heard in Athenry on Monday night.
Close on 70 IFA members from different parts of the county were given a security presenation by Galway Crime Prevention Officer, Sergeant Michael Walsh.
Sgt. Walsh told farmers that in approximately 25% of all burglaries, entry was gained to the residence via an unlocked door or an open window.
He also advised people to be that bit more careful in terms of leaving such items as cash, jewellery, keys, phones, wallets or purses in easily accessible areas close to front and back doors of houses.
Sgt. Walsh said that the old habit of leaving house keys ‘under the flower pot’ or, as in the case of construction jobs, ‘under a block’ near the back door, simply made it too easy for opportunist burglars to gain entry to a house.
“The figures for farm thefts in the western region are quite low but people should never get complacent about basic security measures such as having yards well lit up or having proper locks on doors,” Sgt. Walsh told the Farming Tribune.
He also said that he was seeking to get the co-operation of the County Council in terms of providing a machinery engraving device that had been used very successfully in Monaghan and had been recently introduced in Roscommon as well.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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