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An Garda Síochána in Clare have warned farmers of a recent rise in thefts on farms over the last month.
The Irish Farmers Journal spoke to crime prevention officer for Clare Sgt Catriona Holohan about the recent spate of thefts and the best advice to deter criminals.
Eight agricultural vehicles have been reported stolen from farms so far this year, including three trailers in the last two weeks - a trailer in east Clare, a cattle box in Doonbeg and a horse box also in Doonbeg.
Sgt Holohan said the number of trailer thefts is due to how easy they are to tow away.
She urged farmers to maintain a strong gate with locks, fence and security signage around their farm, to mark their property both in an obvious manner and discreetly and to park other farm vehicles in front of the trailer’s hitch, leave it in a barn or locked to the ground.
“It’s not [the victim’s] fault their property was stolen, but we have to be aware that there are criminals and opportunists out there that when they see a trailer or horse box as they as passing by a yard, they will turn back.”
Investigations
An Garda Síochána has urged anyone that might be the victim of a theft to contact their local Garda station.
Although Sgt Holohan said that no person should look for property by themselves, she said people can check auction websites to see if their stolen item appears online and neighbours should inform gardaí of any suspicious activity.
“When you do a house-to-house enquiry, it actually reassures the public. It might be a trailer from a yard, but it’s very unnerving, very frightening because to a farmer that might be living alone and it’s their yard, that’s an invasion of their privacy,” she added.
“We will be monitoring everything, putting an alert out to An Garda Síochána nationally, so that every garda is aware of a theft that goes on. That’s why it is particularly important that there are unique identifying features on a stolen property because it is then far easier to recover.”
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