A series of Rural Security Workshops in North Canterbury provided an opportunity to spread the word about our new trial rural crime prevention app – Rural Lookout.
Hosted by FMG and supported by Federated Farmers and New Zealand Police, these regular workshops aim to educate and engage the rural community around security issues and solutions, and encourage social connections over shared kai.
At events in Amberley, Oxford, Culverden and Cheviot, Senior Constable Tony Maw and New Zealand Police Project Manager Lisa May presented the latest crime statistics and trends, and provided an update on the North Canterbury Rural Crime Prevention Trial. Local Police staff also attended.
Tony says the main message was report, report, report.
“Crime is like a squeaky wheel – if we can’t hear it, we can’t fix it,” says Tony.
“In our most recent Rural Crime Survey, 31 percent who experienced an incident said they didn’t report it to Police and, disappointingly, 47 percent didn’t improve security after the incident.
“These workshops are a great opportunity for farmers to share prevention strategies and learn from each other.”
Rural security workshops at (clockwise from top left) Oxford, Culverden, Cheviot and Amberley.
Tony and Lisa also used the workshops to promote Rural Lookout, the crime prevention app being trialled in Waimakariri and Hurunui.
Since its launch on 4 May, Rural Lookout has been downloaded over 2,300 times and more than 80 reports have been made. So far, suspicious persons or vehicles have made up the majority of reports, as well as anti-social road use, wilful damage and drones.
Lisa says these are exactly the types of activities they want to see being reported.
“These are the sorts of things that wouldn’t normally be reported,” says Lisa, “but they add to a bigger picture.
“We’re also finding that the photos attached to the reports are of a high quality and are providing strong lines of enquiry.”
Another advantage of the app is its geolocation functionality.
“It’s difficult to provide an exact address in rural areas,” Lisa explains, “but the app takes care of it for you - you can just drop a pin on the map or select your current location.
“In one instance, we were able to identify a stolen and abandoned vehicle on a remote rural road before it was even reported stolen.”