Farmers urged to use new free property marking app

Members of the public – including farmers – can now index and record their personal property, including farm machinery, laptops, and bicycles, through a new property marking app.

An Garda Síochána launched its new free-to-download property app at the National Ploughing Championships earlier today (Monday, September 20^th, 2022).

The app will enable the public to take photographs, record receipts, store registration codes, photographs and property markings.

So, how does it work?

• The app is designed as completely standalone – You can download it for free on Google Play Store or the Apple Store;
• Once you download it, you can safely record your personal information in the app;
• Then begin recording your property. Any information entered into the app is then either stored locally on the device or backed up to your cloud account – whichever is your preference – thus leaving you in charge of your own data at all times;
• An Garda Síochána recommends you make a regular backup as the onus is on you as the owner of your data within the app. An Garda Síochána states that it will not record any data.
• In the situation where the user has their property stolen, the app also has the facility to report the theft to An Garda Síochána. This feature allows the user to select the item(s) that was stolen and easily and securely report the theft to An Garda Síochána. This is a similar process to that of the declaration of theft of property process on the Garda website.

New property marking app

In a statement, a spokesperson for An Garda Síochána:

“An Garda Síochána has for years, been encouraging people to clearly mark their property and make a record of it.”

“Property that is clearly and obviously marked is less attractive to a thief as it is more difficult to sell on.

“The benefit of having all records on their app is that an investigating Garda will have access to better and more detailed information on the stolen property, such as serial numbers, receipts, and images of the stolen items, all of which will assist with the investigation.”

“If stolen property recovered by An Garda Síochána, it is more easily returned to its rightful owner provided a record is kept of identifiable information,” the spokesperson concluded.