Secured by Design support Police Scotland at Royal Highland Show

Under the banner of SPARC, Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime, a partnership that includes Police Scotland, The Scottish Government, Secured by Design, Scottish Land & Estates, NFU Scotland and NFU Mutual to name a few, the team was raising awareness of the measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of crime throughout rural environments.

A fully Police liveried JCB, complete with blue lights was the highlight of the stand, which encompassed a range of products and advice for those in both rural, and non-rural, communities. The JCB has been provided to the National Rural and Acquisitive Crime Unit for a year by the Scottish Plant Owners Association in an effort to raise awareness of the threat of plant and fuel theft to those utilising plant and agricultural machinery.

The use of the JCB enabled promotion of the new Police Scotland and partner’s strategy, SPAACE (Scottish Partnership Against Acquisitive CrimE). The new strategy will put early prevention opportunities at the core of Police Scotland’s structure to reduce the likelihood of harm in communities. In addition, Rural Watch and Construction Watch, both initiatives of Neighbourhood Watch Scotland, form part of the strategy to encourage those in industries to be part of the solution to mitigate the threat.

Secured by Design (SBD) accredited products on the stand included the SUIP Quad protector, uWatch’s new LoRa Cube, SelectaDNA, Triple stop T, PID Systems, Smartwater by DeterTech, CanTrack Protect GPS products, Disklock Quad Security & Ram Lock and SBD accredited faraday pouches supplied by JNE Security. In addition, the Master Locksmiths Association provided SBD & Sold Secure accredited trailer locks for demonstration and new SBD member Quickblocks were also represented on the stand.

Police Scotland’s Detective Superintendent Andrew Patrick, acquisitive crime lead, visited the stand at the show and said: “We know that acquisitive crime has a significant impact on victims, whether it’s through the invasive nature of the offence, such as housebreaking, or the financial impact caused by the theft of essential equipment like fuel, quads or plant machinery. Often there is an emotional cost too when personal items that cannot be replaced are stolen.

“The National Rural and Acquisitive Crime Unit and members of the SPAACE Strategy aim to empower the public and improve Scotland’s sense of community wellbeing by raising awareness of the work being done to tackle acquisitive crime, while providing them with all the necessary information they need to help prevent being targeted by criminals involved in acquisitive crime. Thanks to SBD for this fantastic opportunity to provide direct consultation and provision of support to the public through our attendance at the Royal Highland & Agricultural Show”.

Although SBD products and initiatives formed a large part of the promotion on the stand, the National Rural and Acquisitive Crime Unit also highlighted additional measures that those in rural communities should consider and deterrents for Fly tipping.

The warm weather helped visitor numbers overall, which saw an estimated 2,000 visitors over the four days of the show, with many visitors walking away with crime prevention advice and information flyers.

Visit the Secured by Design Crime Prevention Advice Hub for Rural & Agricultural Security Advice and details of Secured by Design member companies that can offer products designed to help protect your property.