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I have a feeling people who steal bees for a living might not be the most technically savvy people.

Phlarp 7y ago
They don't have to know how any of it works, they just have to buy one on a chinese website and plug it into their 12v car port
lostlogin 7y ago
You’d be wrong. Here in NZ it’s being done cleverly. Hitting an apiary and opening hives to take the best frames and switching in drawn comb. Branded frames are left. Tech solutions have been spotted and avoided. It just leaves the site looking poor, not robbed.
- microwavecamera 7y ago
  More than likely the thieves are people who have worked in the industry so they know how a typical apiary operates and what common security measures are being used. Like any professional, professional criminals focus on crimes that fit their skill set to minimize legal risk and maximize profit. I'm not saying that people who are stealing bees are ignorant or inept. Obviously they're good at what they do or it wouldn't be a problem but we shouldn't assume they're good at all criminal activities. No matter what security measures you take there's always going to be ways to bypass it. Security measures are never a solution to threats but part of a process to minimize the threat. Something like GPS trackers can obviously be defeated but would help mitigate the threat of less skilled apiary thieves thriving on the low hanging fruit of unprotected apiaries. Getting caught using a GPS jammer carries a severe criminal punishment, far worse than just stealing bees. It's a high risk crime that requires technical expertise with major repercussions if you get caught. Criminals that have that level of technical expertise would probably concentrate on more profitable crimes than stealing bees. The goal is to increase the risk of the crime to help minimize the number of people who would attempt it, then concentrate on the few who's left. Security is an often vague process but this is how all security systems work.

They don't have to know how any of it works, they just have to buy one on a chinese website and plug it into their 12v car port

lostlogin 7y ago

You’d be wrong. Here in NZ it’s being done cleverly. Hitting an apiary and opening hives to take the best frames and switching in drawn comb. Branded frames are left. Tech solutions have been spotted and avoided. It just leaves the site looking poor, not robbed.

microwavecamera 7y ago
More than likely the thieves are people who have worked in the industry so they know how a typical apiary operates and what common security measures are being used. Like any professional, professional criminals focus on crimes that fit their skill set to minimize legal risk and maximize profit. I'm not saying that people who are stealing bees are ignorant or inept. Obviously they're good at what they do or it wouldn't be a problem but we shouldn't assume they're good at all criminal activities. No matter what security measures you take there's always going to be ways to bypass it. Security measures are never a solution to threats but part of a process to minimize the threat. Something like GPS trackers can obviously be defeated but would help mitigate the threat of less skilled apiary thieves thriving on the low hanging fruit of unprotected apiaries. Getting caught using a GPS jammer carries a severe criminal punishment, far worse than just stealing bees. It's a high risk crime that requires technical expertise with major repercussions if you get caught. Criminals that have that level of technical expertise would probably concentrate on more profitable crimes than stealing bees. The goal is to increase the risk of the crime to help minimize the number of people who would attempt it, then concentrate on the few who's left. Security is an often vague process but this is how all security systems work.