Locks and Chains are they worth the effort?

16 Jul Locks and Chains are they worth the effort?

Last week I was surveying a farm after a break in where expensive tools had been taken. It was one of a group of four farms in Fife that had been hit on the same night presumably by the same thieves. The farmer had locked all his tools away with fairly substantial locks and chains. These had simply been cut open with apparent ease. The farmer in question then asked me a question that I am asked regularly.

“What’s the point in using locks, they don’t stop theft and it seems to just indicate to thieves where I am keeping my tools? And on top of that it’s a right pain during the day when I have to lock and unlock everything.”

It’s understandable to question the point of using locks and chains to keep criminals out especially when at first sight it does little to prevent entry.

However, locking your farm up is a vital FIRST step in protecting your property for the following reasons:

1. Locks prevent casual visitors to your farm snooping round seeing what you have and either taking things there and then or deciding to come back later.
2. A lock on a door means that a criminal HAS to break in, making it a crime before he has even stolen anything.
3. If you put locks on multiple doors it means that the criminal will not know which one to break into and will have to break in not knowing what is in the store in question.
4. Locks slow a thief down because they need to bring tools, the breaking of the lock will often cause noise and this all increases the likelihood of detection.
5. Locks help to limit the opportunity of theft by legitimate visitors to your farm – such as contractors, employees etc.
6. Breaking of locks and being caught with the tools required for the job can give the police evidence that can help to make a conviction.
7. Not taking basic security precautions can sometimes impact on any insurance claims

All of these measures can be achieved using even basic locks and chains so it does not necessarily need to be an expensive job. Additionally working practices can be eased by using locks that all use the same key, combination locks or even door handles that require a PIN.

We are adding effective locks and chains to our Farm Security Shop all the time check it out for ideas or give us a call.