Over one-third of Irish farmers have been the victims of burglary, with one in four experiencing robbery in the last three years.

These shocking statistics come from our Irish Farmers Journal/RED C poll. It is perhaps the most comprehensive analysis yet into the extent of rural crime, an issue the Irish Farmers Journal has been focusing on intensely.

One thousand people living on Irish farms were polled by RED C over the last seven days. Of these, 10% said they had been the target of burglary in the last year. With over 139,000 farmers in the country, that means almost 14,000 farmers have suffered a burglary or attempted robbery on their property within the last year.

Over the last five years, 29% of farmers – almost a third – have experienced a robbery. That’s over 40,000 farms since 2010.

In all, 38% of farmers reported having had a robbery committed on them at some point. That’s over 52,000 farmers who have had their property burgled, and their sense of security undermind.

Targets

It seems that people living alone are targeted. Only 4% of our respondents live alone, but nearly 61% of this group have been victims of robbery. Leinster (excluding Dublin) is the region with the highest reported level of robberies.

Repeat robberies

Perhaps the most chilling statistic of all is the level of repeat robberies. They might say that lightning only strikes once, but Ireland’s crime gangs frequently strike and then strike again.

One-third of farms robbed have been robbed more than once. This would tally with the testimony of farmers who the Irish Farmers Journal has been talking to – that crime gangs select their victims based on criteria such as ease of access and ease of escape (particularly to a major road network or motorway).

Almost all farmers have been touched by crime. We asked our 1,000 respondents whether one of their neighbours had been victims of a robbery. Over three-quarters said yes – that figure rose to over 90% in the Leinster area (excluding Dublin).

Staggeringly, over half of all farmers surveyed say one of their neighbours has been robbed in the last 12 months. That means over 60,000 farms have witnessed a robbery on their doorstep sine last year’s Ploughing Championships.

Over a quarter of burglary attempts are never reported to gardai. This indicates a significant level of disillusionment with our ability as a society to combat crime.

Of those who did report a crime, two-thirds were satisfied with the garda response. In fact, 20% rated the way the gardaí dealt with the crime reported as “excellent”, with a further 47% calling it “adequate”.

Farmers who have been victims of more than one burglary, perhaps unsurprisingly, were most likely to rate the garda performance as less than adequate or even poor.

This indicates a positive level of public confidence in how the gardaí do their job. However, almost two in three farmers think there is not enough of a garda presence in their area. This sentiment is strongest in the Leinster area, where almost half of farmers polled have been victims of a robbery.

Sense of safety

In light of the level of crime, confirmed by this poll, we asked whether farmers still feel safe in their own houses. The answer, reassuringly, is yes.

Over 90% said they feel safe at home at night. Of these, 40% felt “very safe”, and 53% felt “quite safe”.

Six per cent responded that they feel “not very safe”, with 1% feeling “not at all safe”.

While this is only a handful of people, it adds up to over 1,000 farmers nationwide. More than one in 10 of those over 55 or living alone do not feel safe.

Our poll

RED C polled 1,000 farmers, representative of the demographic breakdown of our farming population.

76% of respondents were male, and 24% female.

Location: 33% Munster; 1% Dublin; 42% Connacht/Ulster; 24% rest of Leinster.

Farm size: 82% less than 50ha; 18% more than 50ha.

Age: 22% 18-34; 23% 35-44; 30% 45-54; 25% 55+.

Farm type: 47% have beef; 28% have dairy; 23% have sheep; 6% are tillage farmers.

Methodology: RED C interviewed a randomly selected and representative sample of 1,000 adults aged 18+ living on farms, by telephone between 16 and 21 September 2015. Quotas were set and data weighted by farm size, type, and region, based on the latest CSO data to ensure the final sample is representative of the total farming community across Ireland. The margin of error is + or -3%.