Farming Monthly National June 2016 | Page 9

Peace of mind for you and your livelihood

| News
Secure Response Services ( SRS ) from the East of England Co-op are looking to share expertise and facilities with other businesses in the fight against theft and crime across the country ; providing peace-of-mind that their property and assets are protected and their workforce feel safe and supported .

A lthough the past year saw a lower level of rural crime across the country , the East of England region remains the most affected . In a study by NFU Mutual *, it ’ s believed that rural crime , which ranges from vehicle and fuel theft to trespassing , cost the UK over £ 30million in 2014 alone .

A range of businesses are already benefitting from SRS ’ s 24 / 7 services , from solar farms and churches to open sites .”
William Notcutt , Director of William Notcutt Estates approached SRS to discuss options for protecting his substantial solar farm in rural Suffolk . He said : “ The company ( SRS ) has a similar ethos to us . They strive to make the communities in which they operate better and work closely with local businesses to achieve that end . I felt confident that they would be able to tailor the ideal solution for our very specific set of requirements .”
2014 saw the opening of a state-of-the-art Alarm Receiving Centre ( ARC ) in Ipswich , Suffolk allowing the SRS team to remotely monitor over 4,500 CCTV cameras and intruder alarms .
For secluded rural sites , simply having CCTV in place is not always enough to deter criminals but thanks to the ARC , the incident management team at SRS is alerted to any event and able to mobilise the appropriate response rapidly when required – maximising the chances of bringing potential thieves or vandals to task .
“ Initially , I was both impressed and a little intrigued by the solution that SRS could offer ,” said William . “ Having decided to take their instruction I have to say that the service to date has been absolutely excellent . In my view SRS represent tremendous value of money and I would have no hesitation in recommending them to others who might have a need for this kind of CCTV monitoring .” The East of England Co-op ’ s Secure Response Services is built
on years of experience reducing crime across its own estate of over 200 outlets , many of which are in rural towns and villages across Norfolk , Suffolk and Essex .
Lee Hammond , Head of SRS explained : “ We ’ ve retained the cooperative ethos and which we like to think that makes us more than just a security company . We know first-hand that any crime on any
scale can have a devastating impact . By working in partnership with local communities , police forces and councils we hope to make towns and villages safe and thriving places to live and work .”
* www . nfumutual . co . uk / farming / i nitative / rural-crime
www . farmingmonthly . co . uk June 2016 | Farming Monthly | 09