Farmers in the border region have voiced their frustration at poor conviction rates of criminals, slow response times to incidents and a general lack of police resources in the border area.
Farmers have had high-value machinery, tools and animals stolen in the last few years.
More recently, thieves have been targeting larger numbers of cattle, and are particularly attracted to animals close to finish, which they might feed for a few days beforehand to lure them into a pen. According to the farmers present, the cattle are quickly moved across the border.
The revelations were made at a meeting on cross-border rural crime, organised jointly by the IFA and UFU, held outside Emyvale in Co Monaghan on Tuesday night.
Representatives from An Garda Síochána and the PSNI both insisted at the meeting that there was a clear line of communication between the two forces.
“In my career, I have never seen it as good as it is now,” said Inspector Kieran Quinn from the PSNI.
Both he and Superintendent Pat O’Connell from An Garda Síochána said that they needed information from the local community to help them identify thieves, and gave an assurance that any information would be treated in confidence.
They also pointed out that having equipment and machinery marked is a good deterrent, but when specific marking events are organised, the take-up from farmers is often low.
Read more
Farmers urged to use Eircodes to combat rural crime
Watch: text alert to predict criminals’ next targets
More garda patrolling and CCTV needed – rural crime report
Farmers in the border region have voiced their frustration at poor conviction rates of criminals, slow response times to incidents and a general lack of police resources in the border area.
Farmers have had high-value machinery, tools and animals stolen in the last few years.
More recently, thieves have been targeting larger numbers of cattle, and are particularly attracted to animals close to finish, which they might feed for a few days beforehand to lure them into a pen. According to the farmers present, the cattle are quickly moved across the border.
The revelations were made at a meeting on cross-border rural crime, organised jointly by the IFA and UFU, held outside Emyvale in Co Monaghan on Tuesday night.
Representatives from An Garda Síochána and the PSNI both insisted at the meeting that there was a clear line of communication between the two forces.
“In my career, I have never seen it as good as it is now,” said Inspector Kieran Quinn from the PSNI.
Both he and Superintendent Pat O’Connell from An Garda Síochána said that they needed information from the local community to help them identify thieves, and gave an assurance that any information would be treated in confidence.
They also pointed out that having equipment and machinery marked is a good deterrent, but when specific marking events are organised, the take-up from farmers is often low.
Read more
Farmers urged to use Eircodes to combat rural crime
Watch: text alert to predict criminals’ next targets
More garda patrolling and CCTV needed – rural crime report
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: