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Farmers have been urged by Gardaí to review their farmyard security ahead of the summer months as more machinery and equipment comes back into use.
Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal at a security awareness event in Ballymahon Mart, crime prevention officer in Longford/Roscommon Paul McDermott advised farmers to secure machinery as best as possible.
McDermott said trailers were particularly popular for thieves: “In our division there’s always one stolen a month and that’s probably reflected elsewhere.”
ATM thefts
He said farmers should also be more cautious given the recent spate of ATM thefts. In some cases the excavators used have been stolen from fields where improvement works were taking place. The tractors and low-loader trailers used had also been stolen from farms in many cases.
Farmers were advised to take simple steps such as parking machinery out of sight, locking sheds and restricting access to the farmyard to minimise the risk of being targeted by thieves.
Summer months were also a common time for tools and gardening equipment to be stolen according to McDermott. He said there has been a rise in the number of ride-on lawnmowers being stolen.
Marking property
McDermott urged farmers to mark their property with an Eircode as “property that is marked is less attractive to a thief, it’s less attractive to steal and harder to sell.”
In the event property is stolen and subsequently recovered, an Eircode can also aid Gardaí in returning the item to its owner.
If someone comes into your yard and they’re selling you stuff out of the back of a van, something that seems ridiculously cheap, you have to wonder where it is coming from
McDermott asked that farmers continue to be wary of those selling tools and equipment out of a van or through online auction sites.
“If someone comes into your yard and they’re selling you stuff out of the back of a van, something that seems ridiculously cheap, you have to wonder where it is coming from.”
“If there weren’t receivers, there wouldn’t be theft. You could be buying some other man’s equipment.”
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