Garden security

Thirty years ago, thefts from gardens were quite rare, mainly being limited to pranksters swapping neighbours' gates around or transferring a collection of gnomes from one garden to another. There was the odd overnight theft of freshly laid turf or a newly planted shrub, or a bicycle left out, but on the whole gardens, particularly back gardens, were safe from thieves. Even garden tools seemed untouchable, probably because it was too difficult to find a ready buyer for a 15-year old rake or a rusty lawnmower. To sell on garden plants or tools, the thief needed a market with plenty of potential customers, and there is no doubt that the arrival of the car boot sale in the 1980s contributed to a big rise in garden theft, which has continued to grow steadily since.

It is so easy to sell anything to an unsuspecting shopper in the commotion and anonymity of a boot sale. At these events, you will often find somebody selling garden equipment such as old fork handles, spades and seven different lawnmowers. In many cases, these may be the legitimate remnants of several house clearance sales, but someone with 23 planted hanging baskets of different types, all with different plants, has to make you wonder.

During the past two decades, there has been a big rise in the general popularity of gardening and entertaining in the garden. For many, the garden has become an outdoor 'room', with comfortable furniture, cooking facilities and shelter, a place to while away more and more time in the summer. DIY stores and garden centres offer a tempting range of garden accessories, such as dining tables and chairs, heaters and gas barbecues (all designed to be left outside), mature potted trees, and a wide range of statuary and sculptures. Thus, the outlet for stolen property has been matched by a greater availability of property to plunder. Moreover, the fact that many of our homes are better secured may have displaced the risk to the garden instead.

Marking your garden property is one of the most valuable things you can do to safeguard it, because if it is stolen, at least the police will be able to return it to you if it's recovered. It's an unfortunate fact that most of the garden equipment and furniture that comes into the hands of the police cannot be traced to the rightful owners simply because it lacks identification. A lot of this unmarked property is eventually auctioned off, the proceeds going to charity.

Despite this apparently bleak picture, it must be remembered that garden theft is very opportunistic. Often, exercising common sense and taking a few simple precautions will be enough to deter the garden thief. This section will help you improve your garden security, but remember that the boundary fences and walls are your first line of defence. Get these right and install an appropriate level of security and aesthetic lighting around the garden.

(Reproduced from hubpages.com  2nd January 2011)

Gardien Tip:  All the above is sound advice. The products to solve the issues can be found at http://www.garden-security.co.uk/