The number of agricultural crime incidents that were reported to police in NI has hit a record low, according to the latest figures obtained from the PSNI.

In the 12 months to the end of March 2019, there were 402 incidents of agricultural crime in NI, down 9% from the 443 incidents reported to police during 2017-2018.

Police define agricultural crime as incidents of burglary, robbery and theft where the victim is involved in an agricultural-based activity.

The first year with available records of agricultural crime in NI is 2010-2011, when there were 937 incidents. The total number of reported cases has fallen for six of the last eight years and has more than halved within the past five years.

Across the 11 policing districts in NI, cases of agricultural crime continue to be most prevalent in Newry, Mourne and Down, where 65 incidents were reported in 2018-2019, although that is down from 79 the year previous.

Aside from the Belfast City policy district, Ards and North Down had the lowest number of agricultural crimes, with seven incidents, which is down from 20 in 2017-2018.

Overall, six policing districts had lower levels of agricultural crime last year, while five showed an increase. The sharpest rise was in Omagh and Fermanagh, where 59 cases represented a 44% increase year on year, and meant the district had the second-highest total in NI.

Trend

There was a different trend for all types of crime reported in rural areas (not just those relating to agriculture). The number of rural crime incidents in NI increased by 4.4% to 5,658 cases during the 2018-2019 year.

Again, Newry, Mourne and Down had the highest number of incidents with 897 cases, while Ards and North Down had the lowest number of rural crimes (aside from Belfast City) with 297 incidents.

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