Limestone Coast Police are urging community members to take extra steps to protect their property amid an ongoing occurrence of farm and tool theft.


South Australian Police Operations Inspector of the Limestone Coast Local Service Area Will Humphries said farm theft continued to be an ongoing occurrence in the South East.


“We continue to see theft as a problem throughout the Limestone Coast and quite often we are looking at items that are quite easily stolen or removed so farming equipment or tools are a common thing that are targeted by thieves,” he said.


“In terms of farm security, we really encourage people to lock gates and sheds, remove keys from farm vehicles and not store them in the vehicle.


“It continues to be something that we do see month to month and it is usually targets of opportunity.


“Certainly in the Limestone Coast, it’s a heavily populated rural area and it is important for everyone both within the townships and on our rural properties to be mindful of their security and take some reasonable steps to remove the opportunity for them to fall victim.


“Certainly we do see theft continue from our rural properties, I would not say there has been a significant increase but is it something that by working with the community and by the community working with us we can see there is opportunity to reduce that occurring.”


Inspector Humphries said measures can be taken by residents to reduce opportunity of theft and make the return of stolen items easier.


“There are a few things that we would ask for the community’s assistance in terms of trying to help reduce the opportunity for those crimes to occur and also to assist us when we do recover these items in returning them to their rightful owners,” he said.


“Items such as tools or chainsaws, if you can engrave the item with an identifying feature unique to you, record serial numbers or take photographs for your records that certainly helps us in identifying stolen property when it’s recovered, ensuring the suspect is held accountable and making sure the things are returned to their rightful owner.


“If we can work together with the community to remove the opportunity for that crime to occur through improving security, installation of CCTV cameras and photographing, engraving, making items less able to be disposed of then we are reducing that opportunity for crime to occur.


“Working with the community is a key part to reducing crime, the community has a role to play as we all do in terms of reducing opportunity for crime to occur and we are always keen to hear from the community with their concerns.”


Anyone who hears or sees something they think is suspicious is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report online at crimestoppers.com.au