Farmers should not confront intruders or trespassers on their property, according to superintendent Michael Corbett.
“Our advice would be not to get into a confrontation with trespassers either in your yard or on your land,” said the recently appointed rural crime lead with An Garda Síochána.
While superintendent Corbett accepted that it might be difficult for farmers to step back from trespassers or intruders, he insisted that this was the safe and sensible thing to do.
“We wouldn’t encourage anyone to challenge trespassers – only dial 999 or call the gardaí. And let the gardaí deal with it,” he said.
“In fact, if you have trespassers in your yard at two o’clock in the morning it is a 999 call all day long,” superintendent Corbett insisted.
He also cautioned against approaching groups trespassing on lands with hunting dogs.
“Stay a safe distance away and maybe just monitor their movements to see what direction they’re going in,” he advised.
“If there is a car parked at an entrance to a gate, get the make and registration number, and the colour of it. That information is always useful.”
Dealing with problems associated with trespass is a priority for him and for the gardaí, he reiterated.
“Trespass is a problem up and down the country from north Co Dublin, to the midlands, to the south.
“It is a big issue for the farming organisations and is definitely a point of focus at the moment,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.
The senior garda would not be drawn on recent calls for changes to the laws around trespass to make it easier to secure convictions where people enter lands without the property owner’s consent.
“It is a matter for the legislators to bring forward laws. The gardaí can only enforce the laws that are there,” he commented.
However, he maintained that the gardaí have secured a number of convictions for trespass in recent months using Section 44 of the Wildlife Act which puts the onus on the person found on the land to prove that he or she had permission from the landowner.
“We’ve had a number of successful prosecutions down here in Co Cork, and, indeed, there’s been a number of prosecutions across the country of people who were out hunting on land and didn’t have permission to be on it.
“Many of these cases were successful partly because there wasn’t a requirement on the landowner to make a statement of complaint since it was on the trespasser to prove that he or she had permission from the landowner,” he explained.
Section 44 of the Wildlife Act “simplifies the whole process”, superintendent Corbett added.
In relation to garda response times to reports of problems with trespassers or other activity, the new rural crime lead maintained that divisional boundaries were not a factor.
“There are regional control centres now, and while we operate in divisions, the nearest patrol car is going to come to the call where possible,” he explained.
However, he said gardaí had to prioritise calls for assistance and deal with the most urgent and serious first.
“Gardaí could be dealing with an incident of domestic violence, an assault, a fatal road accident, then if you get a call about trespassers – while it is important – it could be down the pecking order,” he conceded.
Farmers need to focus on preventing thefts
Farmers should focus on prevention in order to reduce their chances of being targeted by thieves, according to superintendent Corbett.
He said farm robberies were both opportunistic and the work of organised gangs.
He maintained that farmers needed to invest in a mix of basic precautions – such as locked gates and better lighting – and more tech-savvy measures such as tracking devices on machinery and other expensive equipment.
“Prevention is always better than trying to get property back. Getting people’s property back is challenging.
“But people should be making it as difficult as possible for the thief. Have gates up, have locks, have CCTV, have alarm systems.
“We all hear about people’s property being taken, but we have this mindset that it will never happen to me or to us. When it happens then, you end up closing the door but the horse has bolted,” he commented.
“Farmers go away and they buy expensive machinery, expensive trailers, quad bikes; all this equipment that is required and used in their work.
“And yet, although this equipment can cost large sums of money, many farmers do not spend the extra few pounds putting in lighting, putting in alarms, putting in CCTV,” he said.
Tracking devices should be fitted on tractors and other pieces of valuable machinery, while equipment marking should also be used as standard, he claimed.
“These protections are not very expensive. And if you are spending big money on machinery and equipment, you need to protect it.”
Farmers should not confront intruders or trespassers on their property, according to superintendent Michael Corbett.
Keeping a spotlight on rural crime
Superintendent Michael Corbett sees his role as “keeping a spotlight on rural crime”. And he is determined to foster a collaborative approach between An Garda Síochána and all the various rural groupings to the challenges posed in countering rural crime.
“My role will focus on ensuring that we have a collaborative approach between An Garda Síochána and all the various rural groupings – the local authorities, the councils, the farmer organisations, the community councils – around the whole area of rural crime,” he explained.
“Communities are our eyes and ears on the ground. So, we need to encourage people to report suspicious activity or things that appear out of place,” he said.
“I’ll be the primary contact for the national rural organisations when it comes to crime. But I’d also be liaising then with local gardaí in relation to tackling issues that are brought to my attention – ensuring that rural crime is highlighted and that resources are put in to investigate it.
“I’ll be monitoring rural crime trends across the country and liaising with our crime prevention officer network,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.
“I’ll also be liaising with other rural crime leads in other jurisdictions, looking at trends around crime and how we can best share information.”
Drugs a major cause of rural crime
Drugs are a major factor in rural crime, the rural crime lead maintained.
“Absolutely, drugs are in every rural community across the country – there is no doubting that. And drug intimidation is a factor in rural Ireland,” he said.
“There is drug intimidation where there are debts owned by children,” superintendent Corbett explained.
“And if the children can’t pay up, then the criminals sometimes go to the parents, looking for money and to clear the debt. And that is an issue certainly across the country,” he said.
Farmers should not confront intruders or trespassers on their property, according to superintendent Michael Corbett.
“Our advice would be not to get into a confrontation with trespassers either in your yard or on your land,” said the recently appointed rural crime lead with An Garda Síochána.
While superintendent Corbett accepted that it might be difficult for farmers to step back from trespassers or intruders, he insisted that this was the safe and sensible thing to do.
“We wouldn’t encourage anyone to challenge trespassers – only dial 999 or call the gardaí. And let the gardaí deal with it,” he said.
“In fact, if you have trespassers in your yard at two o’clock in the morning it is a 999 call all day long,” superintendent Corbett insisted.
He also cautioned against approaching groups trespassing on lands with hunting dogs.
“Stay a safe distance away and maybe just monitor their movements to see what direction they’re going in,” he advised.
“If there is a car parked at an entrance to a gate, get the make and registration number, and the colour of it. That information is always useful.”
Dealing with problems associated with trespass is a priority for him and for the gardaí, he reiterated.
“Trespass is a problem up and down the country from north Co Dublin, to the midlands, to the south.
“It is a big issue for the farming organisations and is definitely a point of focus at the moment,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.
The senior garda would not be drawn on recent calls for changes to the laws around trespass to make it easier to secure convictions where people enter lands without the property owner’s consent.
“It is a matter for the legislators to bring forward laws. The gardaí can only enforce the laws that are there,” he commented.
However, he maintained that the gardaí have secured a number of convictions for trespass in recent months using Section 44 of the Wildlife Act which puts the onus on the person found on the land to prove that he or she had permission from the landowner.
“We’ve had a number of successful prosecutions down here in Co Cork, and, indeed, there’s been a number of prosecutions across the country of people who were out hunting on land and didn’t have permission to be on it.
“Many of these cases were successful partly because there wasn’t a requirement on the landowner to make a statement of complaint since it was on the trespasser to prove that he or she had permission from the landowner,” he explained.
Section 44 of the Wildlife Act “simplifies the whole process”, superintendent Corbett added.
In relation to garda response times to reports of problems with trespassers or other activity, the new rural crime lead maintained that divisional boundaries were not a factor.
“There are regional control centres now, and while we operate in divisions, the nearest patrol car is going to come to the call where possible,” he explained.
However, he said gardaí had to prioritise calls for assistance and deal with the most urgent and serious first.
“Gardaí could be dealing with an incident of domestic violence, an assault, a fatal road accident, then if you get a call about trespassers – while it is important – it could be down the pecking order,” he conceded.
Farmers need to focus on preventing thefts
Farmers should focus on prevention in order to reduce their chances of being targeted by thieves, according to superintendent Corbett.
He said farm robberies were both opportunistic and the work of organised gangs.
He maintained that farmers needed to invest in a mix of basic precautions – such as locked gates and better lighting – and more tech-savvy measures such as tracking devices on machinery and other expensive equipment.
“Prevention is always better than trying to get property back. Getting people’s property back is challenging.
“But people should be making it as difficult as possible for the thief. Have gates up, have locks, have CCTV, have alarm systems.
“We all hear about people’s property being taken, but we have this mindset that it will never happen to me or to us. When it happens then, you end up closing the door but the horse has bolted,” he commented.
“Farmers go away and they buy expensive machinery, expensive trailers, quad bikes; all this equipment that is required and used in their work.
“And yet, although this equipment can cost large sums of money, many farmers do not spend the extra few pounds putting in lighting, putting in alarms, putting in CCTV,” he said.
Tracking devices should be fitted on tractors and other pieces of valuable machinery, while equipment marking should also be used as standard, he claimed.
“These protections are not very expensive. And if you are spending big money on machinery and equipment, you need to protect it.”
Farmers should not confront intruders or trespassers on their property, according to superintendent Michael Corbett.
Keeping a spotlight on rural crime
Superintendent Michael Corbett sees his role as “keeping a spotlight on rural crime”. And he is determined to foster a collaborative approach between An Garda Síochána and all the various rural groupings to the challenges posed in countering rural crime.
“My role will focus on ensuring that we have a collaborative approach between An Garda Síochána and all the various rural groupings – the local authorities, the councils, the farmer organisations, the community councils – around the whole area of rural crime,” he explained.
“Communities are our eyes and ears on the ground. So, we need to encourage people to report suspicious activity or things that appear out of place,” he said.
“I’ll be the primary contact for the national rural organisations when it comes to crime. But I’d also be liaising then with local gardaí in relation to tackling issues that are brought to my attention – ensuring that rural crime is highlighted and that resources are put in to investigate it.
“I’ll be monitoring rural crime trends across the country and liaising with our crime prevention officer network,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.
“I’ll also be liaising with other rural crime leads in other jurisdictions, looking at trends around crime and how we can best share information.”
Drugs a major cause of rural crime
Drugs are a major factor in rural crime, the rural crime lead maintained.
“Absolutely, drugs are in every rural community across the country – there is no doubting that. And drug intimidation is a factor in rural Ireland,” he said.
“There is drug intimidation where there are debts owned by children,” superintendent Corbett explained.
“And if the children can’t pay up, then the criminals sometimes go to the parents, looking for money and to clear the debt. And that is an issue certainly across the country,” he said.
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