New Campaign Launches To Tackle Farm Crime

A new campaign to tackle farm crime and thefts has been launched.

Since 2010, over 28,642 farm related crime incidents have been reported to Garda, including burglaries and vehicle, machinery and equipment theft, according to the latest CSO figures.

Jointly organised by Crimestoppers, the Irish Farmers Association, an Garda Síochána and DoneDeal, the campaign is aiming to raise awareness among the public and in particular those in the farming community, of the issue of thefts from farms. The initiative follows the joint campaign run by Crimestoppers and the IFA last year to combat livestock theft.

Tim Dalton, Chairman, Crimestoppers, said: "We provide a fully confidential means for every citizen to report crime, without fear of recrimination. Calls are free and the information is given completely anonymously. The service consistently elicits very valuable information to assist investigations in both rural and urban Ireland.

"As well as enabling members of the public to report crime safely and anonymously, an ongoing task of Crimestoppers is to encourage the spread of information to make the public more aware of steps we can all take to reduce the risk of becoming crime victims in the first place. We hope this joint campaign will help rural dwellers to avoid becoming victims of farm related crime and thefts."

IFA President Joe Healy said: "Theft Stop is one of a number of initiatives that IFA is working on for farm families and people living in rural communities. In the last 10 months, it has been rolled out across 12 counties – Laois, Offaly, Kilkenny, Galway, Cavan, Monaghan, Cork, Cavan, Limerick, Meath, Sligo and Leitrim.

"We recognise the importance of providing support and assistance to our members because of the prevalence of crime in rural communities. Our Crime Prevention Officer Colin Connolly is working through our County Executive network to give farmers his insight as a former Garda and through practical advice and anti-crime tips."

(CD/JP)