| Security
Select your security wisely to combat rural crime
In an exclusive interview for Farming Monthly, Leon Window, managing director of Select Security Specialists, details
his thoughts on rural crime, and the considerations every farmer should make.
: What prompted
you to launch
Select Security?
I founded Select
in 2010 in
response to a gap
in the market for rural and
agricultural security systems.
Rural crime figures grew sharply
following the recession in 2008,
with an increase in vehicle, fuel,
and livestock theft to name a few.
2: How did you find the first few
years in business?
Farming is a community. If you
do a good job, people will
recommend you to others, and
that is exactly what happened with
us.
3: What are the top five pieces of
equipment that every farm should
consider?
If I had to pick a top five, I would
suggest the following, but
obviously, every farm has different
needs, so this list may change
dependent on the customer:
3.1: HD CCTV with number
plate recognition:
We are often approached by
clients looking to upgrade their
CCTV as it has captured a theft,
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but the footage is so grainy that it
is of little use. Our HD CCTV
images are of the highest
standard, and our number plate
recognition technology has helped
to solve many thefts over the
years.
3.2: Motion detection:
Farmyards are busy places,
which can be tricky for motion-
activated systems. Thankfully, our
systems allow you to select areas
of the screen to ignore (i.e. busy
walkways) and set a minimum size
of target, which means that it will
ignore anything smaller than say, a
cat.
3.3: Tracking devices:
These clever little devices can
be fixed to high value items such
as farm vehicles, and in the event
of a theft, can be used to recover
the item very quickly.
3.4: Fuel alarms:
Fuel theft is a huge issue. The
cost of repairs can often eclipse
the cost of the stolen fuel, so an
alarm can pay for itself very
quickly.
3.5: Wireless cameras:
Remote locations can present
challenges such as access to
mains power. Thankfully, our
wireless cameras can be placed
virtually anywhere, and transmit a
signal back to a central receiver.
A number of our customers also
use our cameras to monitor
lambing and calving.
4: Do you have any general tips
that every farm should implement?
Farmers are busy people, which
is why security is often not at the
forefront of their minds.
Our advice would be to focus
on the weak-points and protect
your valuable assets. Thieves are
after quick wins, so don’t make it
easy for them.
5: What is the future of security
within the agricultural industry?
Technology will continue to
advance. For example, we have a
number of clients who monitor
their farm security and livestock,
by viewing footage on their mobile
phones. This is internet based, so
would allow them to monitor the
footage from virtually anywhere in
the world.
We could not have said that ten
years ago, so who knows where
we will be in ten years time. I look
forward to finding out!
6: Any final thoughts you would
like to share?
Selec t offers an NFU member
discount of 5%, which has proved
to be very popular.
“Technology will continue to
advance. For example, we have
a number of clients who
monitor their farm security and
livestock, by viewing footage on
their mobile phones. This is
internet based, so would allow
them to monitor the footage
from virtually anywhere in the
world.”
If you would like to discuss your
farm or rural property security
arrangements, or to arrange a free
security survey, please contact
Select Security directly on 01873
811443 / 881196, or email:
[email protected]
May 2017 | Farming Monthly | 43