This is according to a newly report published by the ICSA and Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) entitled “Financial Costs of Agricultural Crime in Ireland”.Of the incidents of crime recorded in the survey, 47% were attributed to vandalism, trespassing and criminal damage, while 43% were recorded as theft.
This is according to a newly report published by the ICSA and Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) entitled “Financial Costs of Agricultural Crime in Ireland”.
Of the incidents of crime recorded in the survey, 47% were attributed to vandalism, trespassing and criminal damage, while 43% were recorded as theft.
Burden
In addition to the two thirds of farmers who are burdened with the €2.4m total cost of agricultural crime, the other third who were not affected reported incurring cost of over €430,000 on insurance and prevention measures. This represents an average of almost €1,500 per respondent.
The report also indicates that farmers may find it difficult to quantify and identify the cost of agricultural crime, leading to it being underestimated.
In addition, the survey found that the average value of goods stolen in a single incident was €1,818.
The research, conducted by Dr Kathleen Moore Walsh and Louise Walsh of WIT, is the first report to focus specifically on agricultural crime, rather than rural crime. The survey involved 861 farmers and was conducted anonymously online.
Earlier in the year, the WIT and ICSA published their first report entitled “Incidence of Agricultural Crime in Ireland”, which outlined that 66% of farmers were victims of previous agricultural crime.
This is the second report in a series of three reports documenting the effect of rural crime, the last of which will be published in September 2017.
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