Nipping illegal gardening in the bud

What will the neighbours say!

How often do we read the local news these days and see the Police have dismantled another clandestine gardening operation (weed farm sounds so tacky!). How many times do these stories mention that neighbours had no idea (until afterwards, when they always suspected something), and how often do we hear that the property owner was just waiting for the property market to come back to normal in order to sell the building? Just recently around here, the local "Are you being served" style department store in the centre of Newport was found to be being farmed; even the pub I ran when I was in my 20s had been farmed out after its closure. These are just a couple of isolated occurrences, with a quick search of the local news media showing up millions of pounds worth of cannabis growing that's been successfully thwarted by local policing.  

It's not easy, and it's a problem that is affecting more and more land owners; particularly those with a larger portfolio where they're simply too busy to carry out regular inspections of their estate, or those who aren't based in the local vicinity who aren't able to get to the property as often as they'd like.

Identifying The Problem

It's a sad state of the world where opportunists will take advantage of almost any space. Not only using the space, but often running up energy bills of many thousands of pounds in the process; all of which often comes back on the land owner. We have witnessed all kinds of vacant property being utilised for the cultivation of cannabis in recent years: Student houses, warehouses and industrial units aren't uncommon; more recently disused pubs and even a department store as mentioned above. Whilst not common, there have been reported stories from across the world where networks of buried shipping containers have been made in to underground farms - making disused space on traditional farms in to highly efficient illegal underground farms.

We see it all too often. As a business, K9 Protection are contacted on a reasonably regular basis as land owners and their agents desperately struggle to secure a premises post-warrant. The type of security measures that have been put in by the drug growers are great for their purposes, but once destroyed by the police to gain entry are often useless for keeping the property secure moving forwards.

Preventing The Problem

So, what can a property owner do in order to prevent their vacant property becoming the latest farming enterprise, keep their building secure and retain the value held in their property? The solution comes down to proactivity and visibility. Regularly checking your premises and making sure you're seen to be checking your premises on a regular basis can often be all it takes to deter criminal gangs from targeting your property. But it's not always that simple.. what if the property owner doesn't live locally or have a local team. What if they're simply too busy on other things, or simply have no will to be carrying property checks on a disused building? That's easy! The easiest thing to do in order to prevent your property being abused in this way is to get ahead of the criminals with a regular security service from a local company like ourselves. With a complete suite of void property security solutions, K9 Protection are able to protect your property and ensure it remains vacant as expected. Adding Technology solutions like our image verified alarm systems to a weekly or monthly void property inspection service actively prevent both provide a real-terms deterrent and allow you to nip any potential issue in the bud (sorry.. had to be said!). A local knowledge from a local guarding team; combined with a good relationship with local policing and a handful of gadgets to make the job that little bit easier can often be your best resource in preventing an attack.

Solving The Problem

If you're reading this page as a result of being victim to this criminal activity, you might just be looking for how to fix the problem and return your property to the state it was in prior to being taken over. Between K9 Protection's team and that of our companion businesses, we're able to help you to secure your premises and make good. We have trusted colleagues who between us can provide immediate security of the premises post-raid, through guards, dogs, and technology solutions; and move on to provide ongoing security of the premises - installing high security doors and shutters where required. We're able to manage a service that includes the clean up and removal of any remaining paraphernalia, working with experienced clean-up crews and even electrical recycling companies to ensure WEEE compliance. 

Photo by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash