Thwart the interlopers

With the increase in rural crime in Alberta, farmers and acreage owners have been forced to take great security precautions where they once may have left their doors unlocked and their property unprotected. Their peaceful havens now have a real threat of interlopers.

Rural Alberta has to protect itself against such vermin and we have the intelligence to do so. Rural property thefts are on the rise partly because of Alberta’s poor economy, but also because of the windfall awaiting thieves on rural land where there is more valuable equipment and tools, often unlocked.

Our rural friends really have to consider the preventative importance of a well-built gate and fence with heavy duty locking. Sure it can be a pain locking the gate at night and every time you leave your property, but there isn’t a more helpless feeling than watching thieves taking your property while you await police protection, or finding out your hard earned items have vanished while you were away or asleep.

Not many friends and neighbours need to be contacted to realize how many have witnessed thieves driving onto their property night or day, meddling with barns, sheds or checking out equipment before being scared away. Thieves are often more interested in what is outside the rural home than inside. That’s why our rural friends have to store ATVs, snowmobiles, lawn tractors and the like in a locked shed or barn. One step farther, would be to disable machines so they can’t be easily rolled away.

As for in-home property, our rural residents always should make it look like someone is at home. Timer lights work great, as do motion sensors. Remember, rats like the dark and don’t want to be seen. . . . contd.