Laois considered for free property marking service to fight crime

A machine that is said to cut property theft by 80% may be soon rolled out across Laois, for homes, farms and businesses to access.

A property marking machine that brands items like machinery with the owner's Eircode, making it less attractive to thieves, is being planned to be bought by Laois County Council to serve communities.

The public will then be invited to open days, bringing their property along to have it marked.

Communities protected by property marking report an 80% reduction in thefts, Cllr Conor Bergin said. 

He proposed that the council buy a machine, at a cost of some €5,000, in a motion tabled to the January meeting of Laois County Council.

"We are all familiar with these property marking devices, they were rolled out in Offaly and Monaghan. The local authorities then erect signs to inform people. They report an 80% reduction over the preceeding 18 months.

"The machine marks any property or valuable possession with the eircode of the owner. If it is stolen and turns up, the Gardaí have a way of getting it back to its rightful owner. 

"In Laois we have excellent local Gardaí and I have been speaking with them, they remarked to me that it would be very helpful. 

"There is a very small fee charged, it might be 50c or €1 an item. I believe the machine is less than €5,000. If we could take the initiative and join 16 other counties. Over 100,000 valuables have been marked, I hope it reduces property related crime in Laois further, it has reduced," Cllr Bergin said.

Cllr Thomasina Connell, Cathaoirleach, seconded his motion.

"There was a funding opportunity at the end of January, we can ask our community section," she said.

Cllr John King supports the idea.

"As far as I know the IFA had something similar, if you have items branded you get a little reduction with insurance as well. There is nothing as bad as going out to your farm to see your trailer or topper missing, the heartbreak of it," he said.

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Cllr Willie Aird thanked Laois Gardai.

"These crimes are not easy to deal with, they are out all hours of the night to track criminals. It is for anyone to use, not just farmers. We get an awful bashing because our roads network allows criminals to get in and out. Any deterrant that can be used should be used," he said.

The reply from Laois County Council stated that it supports the initiative. It is liaising with Laois Public Participation Network to assist in exploring options to deliver on it for communities.

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Property Marking Ireland is the only supplier of the machine in Ireland. The not-for-profit social enterprise Dublin based company also gives training and advice to create community led crime prevention programs run in partnership with county Joint Policing Committees, Local Authorities and community organisations, particularly Community Alert and Neighbourhood Watch groups.

The program involves permanently marking property items with the owner’s Eircode number, and displaying a sticker on the premises to show that households or businesses participate in the program. They say that marking as many items as possible along with the stickers and roadsigns creates "herd immunity", making an entire area less attractive to potential thieves.