The most recent Garda crime statistics back up what thousands of rural homeowners already know. Homes and farms continue to be targeted by criminals in every county of Ireland.

According to the latest Garda Commissioner’s monthly report, there had been a 5% increase in residential burglaries over the past 12 months while the rate of non-residential (which includes farm buildings) burglaries had increased by over 21%.

Operation Thor – the Garda’s targeted operational activity across the country – aims to detect criminals who use the darker winter months to camouflage their illegal activities.

Since it was launched in 2015, the operation has helped reduce rural thefts and burglaries.

However, this campaign is only active during the winter months – the brighter days of summer cannot shield people from crime, with 2,230 residential burglaries reported to the gardaí between April and August of last year.

While the loss of property and valuables is traumatic for victims, a bigger consequence can be the violation of personal space involved when someone breaks into their home. This can leave people, particularly those who are elderly or live alone, feeling frightened and vulnerable long after the incident.

Huge trauma

The Federation for Victim Assistance was set up in 2005 in Kiltimagh, Co Mayo, and offers practical support and advice to those affected by crime from all over the country.

“The Garda Victims Service refer people to us and we get calls from as far as Wexford and Waterford,” says Mary McNicholas, co-ordinator of the charity.

“Our aftercare is what makes the difference to people who are always welcome to maintain contact with us. We had one elderly lady recently whose home was broken into and she was assaulted. She lives alone in a rural area so the effect of what happened to her is long lasting. She will call us if she hears any strange sounds around her home. To know that we are at the end of the line is a huge reassurance to most of the people we support.

We had one lady who lost €50,000 in an internet scam and she was too frightened and ashamed to tell her family.

“Our visitation service allows us to visit those people who often are too frightened to leave their homes after a break in. It is a vital part of what we do.

“People feel listened to and believed. In giving them that time, where you are hearing them share their experience, they have the space to unburden what is a huge trauma for them.”

With the rise in cyber fraud in recent years, the charity also provides practical assistance. “We had one lady who lost €50,000 in an internet scam and she was too frightened and ashamed to tell her family,” says Pat McNicholas, vice treasurer of the charity.

“We were able to intervene on her behalf to agree a payment plan with her bank. She could deal with the matter privately before it caused her any more trauma. It took some of the burden off her knowing she had our support navigating a way through.”

The charity has 12 volunteers working throughout the West and North West region, which is a sharp drop in numbers from before 2019.

“Some of our volunteers are people we have supported in the past but the pandemic forced many to step back and it’s been hard to get new volunteers,” says Federation Chairman Tom Brophy.

“We have no government funding so can’t afford to train volunteers or cover their mileage so it’s having a huge effect on what we can do. The Department of Justice aren’t acknowledging the trauma caused to victims who are forgotten about. All the support goes to the offender, and we’ve a lot of work to do to turn that around.”

Tom credits community initiatives such as Community Alert and Neighbourhood Watch as being vital in protecting people in rural Ireland.

“I have great admiration for Community Alert and Neighbourhood Watch which are the eyes and ears of rural communities. These schemes are a huge help to the Gardaí, and we have developed a fantastic relationship with them right across the country,” he says.

“We are also hoping to work with Student Unions in universities around the country to start the first ever Youth Victims Assistance branch as we need the next generation to take up this work, which is vital to supporting those who are living with the after effects of crime.”

An Garda Síochana is also proactively helping the public protect themselves and their property.

A recent Garda Community Engagement Roadshow event, held in north Tipperary, offered a free service to people to have their Eircode engraved onto a range of items, making it easier for them to be recovered in the event they are stolen.

Community Garda Sergeant Ray Moloney travelled to six centres over a week-long event that invited the public to bring tools, trailers, lawnmowers, generators, bicycles and other equipment and machinery to be marked.

Sgt Moloney says the uptake was very encouraging and people are becoming aware of the need to be proactive in protecting themselves and their belongings.

“We’ve had everything from trailers to power tools, we’ve even had a couple of jet skis and a boat so the public have responded very well to the roadshow,” he says.

“The worst thing we are encountering is people who are being burgled but they aren’t reporting the thefts, which affects the crime statistics at a time when we’re arguing for more Garda resources to combat rural crime.

“Complacency compromises safety so people need to help themselves to stay safe. We’ve found that where property is marked – and people have signage up letting potential criminals know that – those intent on wrong doing are more inclined to be deterred and they will move on.”

Tom Touhy was one of several locals to visit Sgt Moloney’s mobile policing unit at Kickham’s GAA grounds in Dundrum during the community roadshow.

“I only realised a strimmer was taken from my shed when I went to use it, but I’ve had other things like chainsaws stolen down through the years,” he says.

Sgt Moloney used a special grinder machine to engrave the person’s Eircode onto property, which is detected in the event of stolen goods being recovered.

“We’re also encouraging people to upload the Garda property app to their phones and to document their valuables so that they have a record, that can be cross checked against recovered stolen goods,” he says.

“The beauty of the property marking is that the Eircode marking cannot be tampered with and if we find property where there has been an attempt to remove a marking, say with an angle grinder, we will seize the goods until ownership can be proven.

“I’m hoping to arrange further safety demonstrations where I go on to farms in daylight wearing the full Garda uniform and see how long it takes for me to be detected.

“Farmers don’t always notice the gaps in their security and I will give feedback on what I find and suggestions on how to restrict access to land and sheds.”