Horse enthusiasts in and around Catterick Garrison are being invited to an event to help protect their property from criminals who target stables and rural outbuildings.
Officers will be offering a free tack marking service at Catterick Garrison Saddle Club, in Loos Road, on Sunday 5 February 2017, from 9.30am to 2.30pm.
Using hi-tech “dot peen” property marking technology, leather and metal items of tack can be marked with a unique number – deterring would-be thieves and making it much easier to reunite stolen property and secure convictions.
PCSO Eric Corfield, of Catterick Garrison Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Richmondshire is a safe place, and thankfully levels of burglary are low. However, it’s really important to be vigilant and take steps to protect any high-value tack.
“Marking items of tack is one of the most effective crime deterrents. Criminals will see the permanent unique number, and know immediately that the equipment would be too difficult to sell on. If the worst happened and you were targeted, we are much more likely to be able to trace marked property and return it to you.
“Our property marking service is fast and free, so please make a note of the date in Catterick Garrison and come along on the day.”
Dot peen marking involves using a tungsten carbide-tipped pin to indent an object with dots to create a visible, permanent number. The unique number will be entered onto the national Immobilise property register database, vastly increasing the chances that it will be reunited with its owner if it is lost or stolen. (Synthetic tack or padded bridles cannot be marked using dot peen).
For more information about the free dot peen property marking service in Richmondshire, please email richmondshirepropertymarking@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk, or pick up a leaflet from your local police station in Richmond, Leyburn or Catterick Garrison. The service is also promoted on Twitter using #whatisdotpeen.
Dot peen property marking is also available elsewhere in North Yorkshire, including York, Selby and Harrogate. Contact your local Neighbourhood Policing Team to find out about the service in your area.
Horse owners and enthusiasts are also invited to follow the Horsewatch scheme on social media – via NYP Horsewatch on Facebook, and @NYP_Horsewatch on Twitter – so they can find out about future events and be made aware of any equestrian crimes in their area. To get in touch with the scheme, email horsewatch@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk
You can download an identification pack from the North Yorkshire Police website at www.northyorkshire.police.uk/horsewatch. Horse owners are being encouraged to print out a pack, fill it in with details and photographs of horses, tack, horseboxes and trailers and other equipment, and then keep it in a safe place.
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