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Keeping Out a Thief Cattle theft has been in the news a lot this year. And not just in the ag press — mainstream media outlets like MSNBC and large daily newspapers across the country are reporting on this and related crimes. Is the poor economy causing an increase in criminal activity? Possibly. Is the additional news coverage encouraging ranchers to keep better tabs on their livestock and report the crime? Maybe so. Regardless, cattle and equipment theft is a serious problem. And while it cannot be prevented entirely, there are ways to make your ranch a less likely target. Lock it up TSCRA Special Ranger H.D. Brittain, who is based in Weatherford, says although locks may not be a perfect solution, they are a viable theft prevention measure that no doubt helps. "We all know that if a thief wants in bad enough, he's going to get in," Brittain says. "It doesn't matter what [lock or deterrent] you have on the gate, pen or trailer. All we're trying to do is slow them down." It's not only important to have locks, but to use them in the right way. In TSCRA's School for Successful Ranching, Brittain told the participants, "If you have a work crew coming in — to remodel the house, work on the barn, paint or whatever — put a special combination lock on just for them. Give them the combination. When they get through, take the lock off that gate. Don't give them a key because they may make 13 copies and give one to each one of the hands and you'll never get them all back." Then, he adds, do not put that lock back on with the same combination. "The next time you have a work crew coming in change the combination and give it to them. That way you never have the same combination floating around out there," he says. Brittain recommends coming up with several combinations and rotating them out, changing the locks one or two times per year. He recalls a theft case in Parker County where, although the landowners used combination locks all over the place, the combination had been the same for about 20 years. "There's no telling who has that combination," he says. Brittain says he personally prefers Master Locks and combination locks over keyed locks. And locks aren't just for gates; they are for anything that can be locked: trailers, saddle rooms, equipment — anything a lock will fit on. He encourages ranchers to keep their trailers locked up, even at the ranch. "It slows you down a little bit, but I would be willing to bet that there's no emergency out there where an extra three minutes to unlock your trailer is going to hurt anything," Brittain says. "What we're shooting for is deterrence." Brittain locks every gate on his trailer. "I have a fear of being over here in Fort Worth with a horse in the trailer and somebody opening the gate and letting the horse out," he explains. "And it has happened — with some bucking bulls at a truck stop in Weatherford. All the victim was doing was getting fuel and when he went in to pay, somebody opened the gate and let them all out. A deputy ended up going to the hospital because he got run over. So it's best just to lock them." He also recommends keeping the barn and saddle room (or anywhere there is something of value) locked. He laughs, remembering someone who proudly showed him their padlocked saddle room, not thinking about the cutting torch sitting right outside the door. "There's the key, right there!" Brittain says. "Put that thing inside and then lock the door!" He adds that it basically comes down to common sense — and whatever you can do to slow a thief down. If a thief can't be deterred, he says, you want to keep them there as long as you can. "The longer they are there," he explains, "the more evidence they are going to leave. I actually worked a burglary where a guy lost his driver's license. I went and talked to him and the guy said, 'I've never been on that property in my life.' So I took it out [and said], 'Funny, this was out there.'" A good set up Some places are just more appealing to thieves. Brittain says the type of gate or entry can be an attractant or deterrent — and not because it looks secure. "A big, fancy gate draws attention," he explains. "If you've got a big, nice gate, it says, "There's something down here.' I've been to ranches where there are big, nice houses and stuff down there, but by looking at the gate you'd never guess it. It looks like another pasture." When it comes to feeding horses or cattle, try to avoid areas near the road and avoid feeding in pens when possible. "I know a gentleman who feeds his horse beside the highway, in the pens, all the time," Brittain says. "He leaves his buckets and his halters hanging on the fence on a major highway. I've told him, 'You're going to be calling me. Because all someone has to do is come up here and rattle a bucket and the horses come right into these pens. And they're going to use your stuff to steal them. A set of bolt cutters and a trailer and you've lost three or four horses.'" And if you don't feed beside the road, it is a lot harder for a thief to know what you have. He recommends not feeding cattle in pens, but if you must, it should be a one-person job. He says having several different people luring them into pens with feed will only make it easier for a thief to do the same thing. Keeping track Record keeping is not just important when it comes to animal health or reproduction. It's also important to keep track of your property in case of loss. Brittain tells people to "keep a file on everything" — trailers, saddles, ATVs, any equipment or property. The file should include photographs and/or videos, vehicle identification numbers, receipts or anything else that could help prove ownership. While any photo of the item is better than none, Brittain says the best files include two or more photos of each item: one that shows the entire item and another that zooms in on an identifying mark or serial number. "People have to realize they'll be describing their property to someone who has probably never seen it before," Brittain says. Since many items look alike — for instance, a 24-foot black flatbed trailer or a popular brand of roping saddle — Brittain encourages marking them somehow, making them easier to identify. A trailer can be inconspicuously marked with a driver's license number welded underneath and a saddle can be branded. A saddle may also be identified by a blemish. Brittain says he got one saddle back based on spur marks. "The guy told me he'd been jerked off his horse and there was one spur mark right across the seat," Brittain says. "Well, guess what? I found that saddle. When I saw it, I knew it was his. I was in this place looking for other saddles and just happened to see that one and I said, 'That saddle's stolen!'" He adds, "Whatever you can think of to help identify it will help us."
Brittain says once you've got the photos, lists, etc., keep it safe — by making copies and putting at least one in a safety deposit box or fire-proof safe. In other words, he says, "don't put all your eggs in one basket." Top 10 Theft Prevention Tips Compiled from tips from TSCRA Executive Director of Law Enforcement and Theft Prevention Services Larry Gray and TSCRA Special Rangers Doug Hutchison, Hap Roberts, Jimmy Dickson, John Bradshaw and Marvin Wills
"Keeping Out a Thief" is from the June 2009 issue of The Cattleman magazine.
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