Gardaí in Clare have recovered a stolen John Deere tractor in Clonlara. The tractor, which was stolen in March this year, was recovered in the village of Caher, over 30km away from where it was stolen.
Crime prevention officer for Clare sergeant Catriona Holohan said that community engagement was a vital tool in this case.
“It was members of the public that rang in to say they had observed that tractor when it was on the move,” she said. “It just shows the importance of that information coming back from the community into the gardaí.”
Sergeant Holohan told the Irish Farmers Journal that there had been a recent spate of thefts on farms in the county. Eight agricultural vehicles have been reported stolen from farms so far this year, including three trailers in the last two weeks.
When a vehicle is stolen from a farm, the line of investigation that the gardaí can take includes checking local and surrounding towns’ CCTV footage, canvassing with neighbours, and even putting alerts out at ports for the stolen vehicle.
“We don’t advise anyone to go search for something on their own because at the end of the day, the person that stole it is a criminal,” Holohan added.
“We don’t treat victims like it’s their fault, they’re the victim of a crime. Ideally, we’d all love to live in a society where we can leave the front door open, we can leave the car open but unfortunately that’s not the case.”
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