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Thieves raided farms for €1.4m worth of goods between September 2017 and August 2018. This was down 9% on the same previous period.
Figures released from the Garda Analysis Service show the number of farm thefts nationally fell by 8%. This brought the number of farm thefts last year down to approximately 1,100 but gardaí have warned against complacency.
There were over 100 incidents of livestock theft. Animals with a total value of €350,000 were stolen with cattle accounting for half of the value.
Common targets
Tools and farming equipment were also targeted items. There were 200 incidents of tool theft in the last 12 months to a value of €260,000. The number of farming equipment thefts dropped by 18% but in the 260 cases where something was stolen the typical stolen value was €300 per incident.
A large number of vehicles were stolen with the keys in them
Tractors, trailers and quad bikes continued to be commonly targeted by thieves. In the last 12 months, 100 trailers and 150 vehicles were stolen from farms.
The figures show a large number of those vehicles were stolen with the keys in them. One in three tractors, three in four vans and one in six quads were stolen with the key. The advice from the gardaí is to keep the keys on your person and not in the vehicle.
Prevention
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal at Ploughing 2018, Sergeant Graham Kavanagh, crime prevention officer for Laois/Offaly, encouraged people to report any theft from their farm and take every precaution possible.
He urged people to mark their property using TheftStop or an Eircode to make it easier to recover stolen property. He said lightening and strong perimeter barriers could help to deter thieves.
He said: “If I’m a criminal, I do not want to get out of a van to open a gate to get into a yard. I’ll go somewhere else instead. So close the gates if you’re only going to another location for 20 or 30 minutes. Make it difficult for them.”
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