We need to know of travelling criminals on the road - Commissioner Harris

The gardaí need to know “if there are travelling criminals on the road at any particular time”, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has said.

He urged farmers and people in rural Ireland to report crimes at a joint garda and IFA national community engagement day in Kentstown, Co Meath 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 are travelling criminals on the road at any particular time and what’s happening,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal.

Reporting

“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 are very much invested in policing rural communities.

“We want to reassure people about our ongoing investment and our ongoing presence,” 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.