AGWATCH Program - Microchip Operation Identifies Stolen Agricultural Items
From the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department
AGWATCH Program - Microchip Operation
Over the past several months, the Southern Coachella Valley Community Services District Team has worked diligently in conjunction with local growers to reduce thefts. Our AGWATCH Program has used a number of innovative approaches to help identify agricultural items when they are stolen. An example of the program is marking date shoots, which are cut from mature date palms and planted to become future date palms. These young date palms are a prime target for thieves and a proactive approach towards prevention of these crimes is one of our main missions.
We have recently begun an extension of AGWATCH, in conjunction with local growers and farmers, to implant microchips into agricultural products. These microchips are the size of a grain of rice and are similar to the ones used to identify animals. The products are purchased from the Veri-Chip Corporation out of Florida, then implanted into the plants and trees. The data to help identify the owner is then placed into a database.
Officers can use a handheld scanner to check any plants or trees, to see if they contain a microchip, when they come upon items suspected of being stolen. If they find the product has a microchip, the information can be used to trace the item back to the owner. We will be working with the growers in the future to install AGWATCH signs in areas where products have been chipped, so the thieves can know these thefts will not be tolerated and we are watching out for them. These programs have been used in several different venues, but this is the first time microchips have been used in the southern Coachella Valley.
The Southern Coachella Valley Community Services District Team is funded by the communities in the unincorporated areas of Mecca, Thermal, Oasis and Vista Santa Rosa. Even though this area is our primary focus, we are working along with the Riverside Sheriff’s Department Indio Station Agricultural Liaison Deputy to implement this program to all growers in the eastern and southern Coachella Valley. We are working hard at curtailing crime and increasing the quality of life throughout the district and we ask the community to assist us in this effort.
If anyone needs additional information, they can contact Lieutenant Frank Taylor at (760) 863-8990.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
Sheriff Stanley Sniff
SOUTHERN COACHELLA VALLEY COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT
PRESS RELEASE
Date/Time Written: October 7, 2009 / 3:00 PM
AGWATCH Program - Microchip Operation
Date/Time of Incident: Ongoing Program
Location(s) of Incident: Unincorporated Areas of the Southern Coachella Valley, including the communities of Mecca, Thermal, Oasis, and Vista Santa Rosa
Reporting Officer: Lieutenant Frank Taylor
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