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Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has told farmers to report rural crime to gardaí so that the force can respond to problems.
He was speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal at a joint IFA and Garda national community engagement day in Kentstown, Co Meath. It was one of over 500 events taking place across the country on Friday.
“If they’re suffering from crime, they should report, it because that is information not only for us to investigate but at national level that tells us then where our resources are needed.
“If we don’t know of a problem, then it’s very difficult to respond to it. We need to know what the issues are. We need to know if there’s travelling criminals on the road at any particular time and what’s happening.
It gives us a far better picture nationally of what’s happening
“Reporting a crime gives the gardaí an indication of what they are suffering in terms of crime and loss and secondly it gives us a far better picture nationally of what’s happening.
“If we don’t know, that doesn’t help us in terms of where our resources should be,” he said.
He said the gardaí are there to protect the public and they are very much invested in policing rural communities.
“We want to reassure people about our ongoing investment and our ongoing presence,” he said.
Recruiting
Throughout the year, the numbers of gardaí will continue to increase, Commissioner Harris said.
“We’ve plans to recruit 725 this year, plus then the recruitment of civilian staff to displace other gardaí out on the ground.
“We’re continuing on a period of growth and that then will lead towards one of our big priorities, which is community policing. That includes rural areas, so people should see increased visibility.
“One of the objectives we want to achieve is that people feel more reassured to seeing more guards out there on the ground and therefore then feel more empowered to report suspicious activity or indeed crime,” he said.
Visibility
IFA president Tim Cullinan said that the visibility of gardaí in rural areas is essential.
“We’ve been dealing with rural crime now on an ongoing basis and the issue of people with dogs and lurcher dogs coming on to farms is huge stress on farmers and their families.
“It’s leading to rural crime,” he said, adding that rural crime is a red line issue for the IFA. “It needs to be a criminal offence to trespass.”
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