The Market Weighton based company is fast growing its reputation for vehicle tracking and has impressed North Yorkshire’s Rural Crime Division by going above and beyond for a victim of theft.
The tracking systems earnt the respect of The North Yorkshire Rural Crime Division after the system was used to track and locate a recently stolen quad bike.
Sergeant Arfan Rahouf from the North Yorkshire Rural Task Force was involved in the vehicle recovery operation and he commended the tracking software after being impressed by Simplytrak’s speedy response and the softwares ability to pinpoint the stolen vehicles exact location. PC Arfan commented, “We received fantastic service from Simplytrak. The tracking kit enabled the team to locate, seize and recover the stolen quad within twenty-four hours.”
Having previously been interviewed about rural vehicle crime, PC Rahouf commented that: “The problem with rural crime is it is not high enough up the agenda for people. If you take a quad bike from a farmer then that is their livelihood gone for a couple of days – if not weeks – until it can be retrieved or replaced and the impact of it is massive.” Since the introduction of the Rural Task Force over three years ago, rural crime has fallen, however PC Rahouf stated that, “The force has seen an increase in farm and agricultural theft, in particular quad bike thefts.” Which is where tracking and security systems come into play and can offer confidence to the rural community.
Talking about the incident and the systems capabilities, Ian Wood, Managing Director said: “Simplytrak supplies Platt Quads with the tracking system and software and in turn they supply vehicles to their network of customers with the added security of Simplytrak’s tracking systems. Having originally purchased a quad fitted with a tracker from Platt’s the vehicle was subsequently re-sold to a private customer and the system was later disabled. Unfortunately for the new owner, the vehicle was recently stolen and North Yorkshire Rural Crime Division contacted Simplytrak to enquire about the original tracking system installed and ascertain whether it could be reinstated. We quickly confirmed that we were able to reactivate the system to track the stolen bike and reacted quickly to the Police request. By re-enabling the tracker we were able to direct the police to the exact location of the stolen vehicle, where they were able to recover it quickly.”
Ian goes on to say, “The tracker demonstrated its capabilities perfectly and impressed both the Officers involved in the quad’s recovery and the private owner – who has now purchased the system for the rest of their fleet of vehicles. Rural vehicle crime is on the rise and it’s great to know our system can support prevention and help to minimise crime by supporting tracking and vehicle retrieval which hopefully leads to subsequent criminal proceedings. In the past few years we have helped the police on a number of occasions and often finding one stolen vehicle leads to the location of quite a few more.”
The private owner Helen, who has since gone on to purchase a range of Simplytrak tracking kits said, “Without having the Simplytrak tracker installed on our quad bike, we would have faced huge costs plus the price rise on insurance and the total inconvenience of having to replace the equipment. Thanks to Simplytrak we recovered the quad bike within around 12 hours of it being stolen.”
Helen explained: “The yard break-in was frighteningly well-organised, we believe the thieves used drones to stake out the area and plan entry and exit points in advance. Within a 15 minute window they had cut down our fences, broken into our shed and wheeled the quad to a waiting horse trailer before making a quick getaway. We reported the crime to the Police but with no officers immediately available, or clues to go off it was looking incredibly unlikely that we would recover the quad. We remembered that the previous owner had a tracker fitted but we hadn’t re-activated it in our name.The next morning we were able to get Simplytrak’s details from the previous owner, and pass these on to the Police. Simplytrak immediately accessed the tracker and within a matter of minutes told the Police it’s precise location. Officers were able to recover the quad that same day.
We are so thrilled to have got our quad bike back. Recovery would not have been possible without Simplytrak. We have already re-registered the tracker in our name and purchased several more units for all our other machines! We couldn’t be more grateful for the fantastic service from Simplytrak.”
Simplytrak’s vehicle tracking systems enable fleet management operators to drive down costs and improve efficiency. With capabilities including live turn-by-turn tracking, geofencing and alerts the tracking solution allows companies to know exactly where their vehicles are at all times. The modular system also offers immobilisation features and witness and/or security cameras to further increase vehicle and driver security.
Often, vehicle theft occurs due to opportunists spotting a ‘vulnerable vehicle’. Avoid leaving items such as wallets, mobile phones and luggage on display. If your vehicle has a portable navigation device, remove it from the windscreen and make sure to wipe away the suction marks left by the mount. If you tend to hide items under the seat or glove compartment, chances are someone could have seen you, try to take items with you where possible or place them in the boot of the vehicle before making your journey.
Recent data from Co-op Insurance revealed that nine of the ten hotspots for car crime in the UK are located in the capital, including the exclusive borough of Kensington and Chelsea. With this, it’s important you choose your parking space smartly. Search for areas that are well lit with high footfall. Even opportunists won’t take the risk for a small reward if they believe they are being watched.
This may seem obvious, but always ensure both doors and windows are locked. It doesn’t matter if you’re popping to the shop or parked outside your own home, its a simple prevention method that could go a long way. If your vehicle has a sunroof, ensure this is closed too, and if your drive a convertible, close the soft-top.
Technology plays a vital role in keeping your pride and joy safe. The use of vehicle trackers has fast become the most successful way of monitoring and securing your vehicle or fleet. Simplytrak can pinpoint your vehicle to the exact location, whilst in a remote location and have quickly become one the market leaders in automotive security with our excellent solutions and features. Our vehicle tracking system comes with standard features that enable you to drive down costs and improve efficiency. We also offer immobilisation features and cameras to increase vehicle and driver security.
Vehicle theft using the keys will negate your insurance. Simplytrak’s new SimplySecure system aims to prevent fleet drivers from ever leaving the keys in the ignition, even during quick drops. Whenever the driver’s door is opened with the keys still in the ignition, the horn will sound, hazard lights will flash and the vehicle is instantly immobilised. The vehicle cannot be stolen. To mobilise the vehicle again, the driver must contact head office who are able to re-mobilise the vehicle remotely.
SimplySecure Uses TurnKey Technology To:
Contact us today to learn more about protecting your vehicle!
Farms, by necessity, need a range of expensive machinery like tractors, quad bikes, etc. in order to carry out their tasks. A stolen vehicle can be a traumatic experience, costly and extremely inconvenient to say the least.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) just 2 in 5 stolen vehicles return to their owner. Even if the vehicles return, they’re not likely to be a good condition. The West Yorkshire Police Vehicle Crime Unit officially advises owners to track their vehicles to avoid theft.
Simplytrak’s asset and vehicle tracking system provides the exact location of your vehicle at any given time. In addition, Simplytrak offers remote immobilisation features. They have the ability to stop your vehicle from running remotely – and start it again if required.Simplytrak’s Operations Manager Steve Brindle who guided the police with the tracker information, says “Speed is important as our client received the vehicle back without damages, ready to go. The investment in vehicle tracking has surely paid off for him. We would recommend anyone owning machinery to track their vehicles. It’s not expensive and it’s worth it.”
In line with commercial van thefts were 3513 reported tool thefts. Cambridge, Staffordshire, South Yorkshire were the hardest hit places. This figure is up 8% from 2017 – 2018. The theft of these tools is the backbone to people’s business, without the tools they do not make the money.
Our Business Development Manager Greg Halliday shares his key ways to protect your van contents:
For any camera, tracking or specific UV pen requirements please contact us at Simplytrak.
Car crime soared in the opening month of the year as a total of 375,001 vehicle incidents were recorded in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2019. January joins March, April, May and October as the top five worst months for vehicle crime but the opening month tops the list as the most prolific period.
A total of 11 percent of all vehicle crimes recorded in 2019 took place in January, according to UK police data analysed by Click4Reg.
Simple things such as removing any High Value Good from the vehicle – satnavs, money, phones, handbags or wallets will lower the chances of break ins. Here are three tips on how to further minimise the risk:
Installing a dash camera is a great deterrent these days as many use motion detection, or sleep mode recording.
With the advances in GPS technology we’re able to locate assets in more remote places such as container units, warehouses and in some cases underground car parks. Taking the advantage away from the thieves. Installing a recognised branded tracking unit can save you thousands on insurance and increase the chances of having the vehicle returned.
Adding the extra option to have the vehicle remotely immobilized is a very wise choice, the user is able to text the tracker to shut off the power on the next engine off cycle, meaning the vehicle will no longer start up, until the user sends another code to re-engage on recovery of the asset. This will limit the distance the vehicle can travel after theft. Allowing the owner to set up recovery option with the local police.
Vehicles with keyless entry / ignition will benefit from owning an RFID pouch. RFID pouches use electromagnetic fields to stop incoming and outgoing frequencies that thieves would usually use to open and get away with your vehicle.
RFID pouches are available from Amazon UK from as little as £5.”
Stats source: https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/cars/1224928/car-crime-january-vehicle-thefts-uk-thieves-criminals-regions-map
Simplytrak, the East Yorkshire-based fleet management software company behind the device, are familiar with this method of vehicle recovery and specialise in helping their customers in similar situations. Ian Wood, Simplytrak’s new Managing Director, explains:
“Motion detection is one of the many options that come with our trackers and is becoming increasingly important for businesses who want to protect their vehicles.
“As well as detecting when the ignition is switched on and off, our trackers continue to track the location of a vehicle when the engine is off. This means we can still alert the owners when a vehicle is moving even if, like in this example, the vehicles are loaded onto a wagon and taken off site.”
On this occasion, the thieves thought they had done enough to disable the trackers by disconnecting them from the quad bike batteries, however, what they weren’t planning on was the emergency power supply that kept the trackers in full operational mode for long enough for the Misson Organic Dairying Ltd to spring into action.
The quad bikes were leased from Richard Platt Farming, who supplies various vehicles to agriculture businesses. Mr Platt said:
“The agriculture industry uses a range of vehicles such as quad bikes, which are often seen as an easy target for thieves.
“That’s why I recommend that all the vehicles I supply have the Simplytrak system installed, complete with motion detection – offering customers peace of mind that they’re getting a secure vehicle to reduce the risk of business disruption.”
Joel Rathbone from Misson Organic Dairying Ltd added:
“We’re extremely grateful to Richard Platt and the team at Simplytrak for helping us use the system to its full potential to recover these vehicles. This is a busy time of year for us and all our vehicles are important to the running of the farm. We’d be lost without them.”
Following the theft, motion detection alerts have been set up in case the thieves come back and try again. During set times, if the vehicles move when the farm know they shouldn’t be moving, an SMS/email alert will be sent to Mr Rathbone at the farm so they can act quickly to keep tracks on them.
According to the Rural Crime Report 2018 from NFU Mutual, the cost of agricultural vehicle theft and quad/ATV theft last year was £5.9m and £2.3m respectively, meaning much needs to be done to tackle this increasing threat.
Effective vehicle tracking is just one of the ways in which farmers should be looking to protect their assets in 2019.