Cllr. Orla Leyden has called for a ‘Property Marking Crime Prevention’ scheme to be introduced in the county.
At a recent meeting of Roscommon County Council, Cllr. Leyden put down a motion calling on the Council to purchase a property marker machine in association with Roscommon Joint Policing Committee.
“This Telesis Dot Peen machine works by stamping the individual’s Eircode into the item to be marked, thus making it more difficult to sell on if it’s stolen. It can be used on everything from steel to plastic items.
“The property marking machine could be loaned to Community Alert Groups and other groups free of charge who wish to organise property marking events for items such as lawnmowers, strimmers, trailers, TVs, smart phones. It could be of interest to sports cubs too. Schools could also avail of marking equipment belonging to the school and businesses and farmers might have power tools, generators and other portable equipment that would benefit from being marked”.
The matter is now going before the next meeting of the Roscommon Joint Policing Committee. Cllr. Leyden said that she is confident that the Property Marking Crime Prevention scheme will be introduced in Roscommon following the positive response she received at both Roscommon County Council where the motion was agreed and at the public meeting of Roscommon Joint Policing Committee in December where her proposal was supported by all present including An Garda Síochána.
She concluded by saying that the property marking machine will be an invaluable resource and that it could assist the Gardaí in tracing and recovering stolen property.
“Most importantly it will act as a deterrent to thieves in the first place where signs and stickers saying ‘Beware Property Marking in Operation’ can be erected in the community,” she concluded.
