The Farmers Mart Jun-Jul 2019 - Issue 63 | Page 16

16 FARM NEWS
JUN/JUL 2019 • farmers-mart.co.uk
LEARNING
HOW HONDA
IS TACKLING
RURAL CRIME
After a Honda ATV was stolen from one YFC
member’s smallholding he was keen to do more
to tackle rural crime – and to find out how large
manufacturers were dealing with the issue too.
AS well as being personally affected by rural
crime, Joe Holmes, from Worth Valley YFC,
was also interested because of his involve-
ment with his club’s Fields of Vision initiative
– a WhatsApp-inspired project that aims to
encourage local rural communities to report
crime.
Honda invited Joe to find out more about
the tracking devices that the company is
offering its customers free with every new
purchase.
Joe visited the Datatool facility in Preston to
see how the devices are made and to learn
more about how they are helping victims of
crime to recover their stolen vehicles.
‘ Our Fields of Vision
project relies on people
seeing suspicious
activity and reporting
it. The Datatool device
works 24/7 and the
technology is so up-to-
date and so accurate
as it can pinpoint
the exact location of
your stolen vehicle
’
“We haven’t replaced our quad bike
since it was stolen a few years ago,” said
Joe. “We decided to just walk around our
50 acres to care for the animals we have
instead of risking another break-in. So, I
was really interested to see how the track-
ing devices could have helped my family
to not only apprehend the criminals but
retrieve our quad bike too!”
At Datatool, Joe saw the huge machines
that make the 44,000 circuit boards per
hour that go into making the tracking
devices and other products. He was also
impressed that not all the production lines
were automated.
“It’s an impressive factory and good to
see this product being manufactured in
Britain. I also liked seeing local people,
and not just machines, involved in working
on the devices. That human touch makes
sure it has the right quality.”
Joe was also able to witness a ‘staged’
theft by the Honda team as they attached
the Datatool GPS Adventure TrakKING
devices to a motorcycle before driving
it away. If a vehicle with one of these
devices is moved without the key being
used or if the engine isn’t running, the
device sends an alert to Datatool. And that
works 24/7 too, so it doesn’t matter if this
happens during the night.
“It was so immediate,” said Joe who got
to watch the fake theft on the screens.
“As soon as the bike started moving it
‘ I was really interested to see how the tracking devices
could have helped my family to not only apprehend
the criminals but retrieve our quad bike too ’
popped up on the screens. Datatool gets a
notification that it’s moved, and they ring
the owner to make sure it is a theft. The
subscription covers them tracking it and
contacting the police.
“If this had been a real theft, the police
would have been alerted and they would
have possibly been able to apprehend
those involved and recover the bike.”
‘ It’s an impressive
factory and good to
see this product being
manufactured in Britain.
I also liked seeing local
people, and not just
machines, involved in
working on the devices
’
All Datatool’s call centres are based in
the UK and when any suspicious activity is
recorded – such as a vehicle being moved
without the key – then the tracking device
sends a signal to the Datatool team. They
always contact the owner of the vehicle
first before alerting the police. Around 97%
of all vehicles with a tracking device will be
returned to their owners following a theft.
Joe said devices like these were a
brilliant help in fighting rural crime. “Our
Fields of Vision project relies on people
seeing suspicious activity and reporting it.
The Datatool device works 24/7 and the
technology is so up-to-date and so accu-
rate as it can pinpoint the exact location of
your stolen vehicle.
The Datatool TrakKING Adventure GPS is
complimentary with every new purchase
from Honda.
www.honda.co.uk/atv