Trespassing is the “most common” crime against farmers, according to a report by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
As part of the Crime and Victimisation 2019 report, farming households were surveyed and the results show that trespassing was the most frequently reported crime, with 18% of farming respondents to the survey saying they experienced trespassing on their land.
In the report, it is also outlined that 2% of respondents said they experienced theft of farm machinery, 1% reported theft of / interfering with livestock and 0.5% reported theft of a farm vehicle.
Border and western regions see lowest levels of household crime
In regards to household crime not specific to farming, the border and western regions saw the lowest levels of household crime with 2% of households being victimised, according to the report.
Nearly 2% of respondents in the west of Ireland reported that they were victims of rural crime and nearly 3% of respondents in the south-west reported that they were victims.
Many crimes remain unreported
Of all the respondents to the survey, 59% of households that were victims of crime said they reported some or all incidents to An Garda Síochána.
27% did not report the crime because they believe the Gardaí “could do nothing” while 20% believed the Gardaí “would not do anything”.