The little bottle Cornwall police hope will put off farm thieves

If your quad bike vanished from the yard tonight, how would anyone prove it was yours?

That is the question behind a fresh nudge from the Devon & Cornwall Police Rural Affairs Team, which is encouraging farmers to put a small bottle of forensic DNA marking to work on their equipment.

What the marking does

According to the team, forensic DNA marking has been proven to deter thieves. It can also significantly increase the chances of police identifying stolen property and getting it back to its owner.

That covers the kit farms rely on every day, from quad bikes to larger farm machinery.

What farmers are being asked to do

The advice comes in three parts:

• Mark your equipment with forensic DNA marking.
• Advertise that it’s protected, so anyone eyeing it up knows it can be traced.
• Make your farm a harder target for criminals.

The second step matters as much as the first. Marking only puts thieves off if they know it’s there.

Where to find police-approved products

For police-approved security products and farm security advice, the team points people to Secured by Design.

Secured by Design is the only way for companies to get police recognition for security-related products in the UK. Its top tier, the Police Preferred Specification, is only open to member companies, and you can browse accredited kit using its product search.

📷Credit: Devon & Cornwall Police Rural Affairs Team