In an Australian-first, a new initiative has launched to help farmers reduce the risk of crime on their properties, something local farmers say continues to be an issue in the district.
How Safe Is My Farm is a Neighbourhood Watch initiative, developed with Victoria Police and supported by the RACV that helps farmers identify what they can do to reduce the risk of crime, particularly theft, on their properties.
Featuring an online tool with a questionnaire on current farm safety practices, the initiative provides users with a personalised report on how safe their farm is.
It comes as Victoria continues to see a high number of criminal incidents occurring at farms, with data from the Crime Statistics Agency showing that in 2022, there had been more than 2000 farm related offences.
In the Central Goldfields Shire there were 23 offences recorded at farm locations, including 14 incidents of theft.
Between October and February, almost 700 sheep worth $139,000 were stolen from a property near Logan, with investigators believing offenders would have needed to use at least two four-decker trucks to transport the livestock.
One of those impacted by last year’s incidents is local farmer Shane Dellavedova, who said farms have been seen as a “soft target” for theft for some time.
“We had a diesel theft last year and two days later, we had a more serious theft,” he said.
“Farms have been a bit of a soft target, often they’re unoccupied and isolated and people take a risk thinking they’ll get away with it.
“Farm theft is a real issue for sure and it’s an inconvenience too, some of the things we had taken were a hassle to replace.”
Mr Dellavedova spoke highly of having security cameras installed at farm properties, something highlighted by the How Safe Is My Farm tool, as well as ensuring items are locked away.
“There’s a lot to be said for having cameras up in locations where you can at least see vehicles so if something does happen, you can look back and identify the vehicles involved,” he said.
“Cameras are a great deterrence and making sure things are locked up and not having things like car keys lying around is really important.
“There’s no real excuse for not trying to protect yourself as much as you can.”
A survey undertaken by the University of New England and Centre for Rural Criminology in 2021 found that while incidents of farm crime are reported, there is reluctance in making an official report to police.
The report found that reluctance in reporting theft from farms existed because of beliefs there wouldn’t be enough evidence for police to proceed, it may be difficult to tell if a crime has occurred, that police would do nothing about it and that the theft wasn’t serious enough.
The report also found more than 68 percent of survey respondents had been a victim of theft from their farm, with more than half of these thefts occurring on farms within sight of public roads.
Neighbourhood Watch CEO Bambi Gordon said given there is reluctance to report possible crimes, the new online tool would support farmers to minimise their risk of theft.
“The How Safe Is My Farm online resource aims to motivate rural and regional Victorians to prevent a crime happening in the first place,” she said.
“We know that most crime is opportunistic — if the offender sees a chance, they’ll take it. If we remove the opportunity to, for example, steal stock, petrol, weapons, or break into an unattended home — we can prevent becoming a victim. It can be as simple as keeping gates locked and hiding car keys.
“The resource has been created specifically for the issues that can occur in a regional or rural setting and we hope that it prompts people to think about their security — and importantly — to watch out for each other.”
To use the tool and find out more, visit howsafeismyplace.com.au/farm/
