Riverside County news headline provided by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department:

Over the past several months, the Southern Coachella Valley Community Services District Team has worked diligently in conjunction with local growers to reduce tree and plant thefts.

An example, 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 hand-held 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.

Filed under Headline

Thursday, October 8, 2009

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