New rural safety plan to tackle burglaries, roads policing, and animal and heritage crime

There are five pillars to the rural safety plan: community safety, burglary and theft, roads policing, animal crime, and heritage crime. Picture: iStock

A new rural safety plan is currently being drawn up to bring communities and rural groups together to help tackle crimes such as burglary, crimes against animals and heritage crime.

The new plan is not likely to be published until early next year. However, workshops are currently taking place involving stakeholders including the Department of Justice, An Garda Síochána, the Irish Farmers Association, Muintir na Tire and other groups representing the interests of rural dweller through the National Rural Safety Forum.

There are five pillars to the rural safety plan: community safety, burglary and theft, roads policing, animal crime, and heritage crime.

Last month, the IFA warned farmers, agricultural contractors, and machinery owners to be on the alert after a spate of thefts of satellite-based Global Positioning Systems. They included the theft of six systems with an estimated value of up to €100,000 in the Wexford and North Dublin areas.

Meanwhile, gardaí are continuing their investigations into the targeting of rural householders, including farmers, in an alleged fraud in connection with the sale of fire safety equipment. Householders across Munster have been targeted in the alleged fraud, while concerns have also been raised by people in parts of the Midlands, South Leinster, and South Connacht who believe they were also targeted.

The current Rural Safety Forum was launched in September 2022 at the National Ploughing Championships and expires at the end of this year.

According to the Department of Justice: “The vision of the Rural Safety Plan is for people and communities in rural Ireland to feel safe and be safe in their homes, their places of work, and their local environments.” 

The department said the purpose of the Rural Safety Forum “is to develop a nationwide network for the distribution of crime prevention advice, increase engagement within communities and prevent and reduce opportunities for crime”.

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Under the pillar of roads policing, the current plan sought to reduce road deaths and serious injuries on rural roads, and to increase the number of multi-agency checkpoints in rural areas.

Last week, an Irish Examiner/Ipsos poll of rural dwellers found 84% of those surveyed feel safe living in rural Ireland.

Only slightly more than two in five have been stopped at a Garda checkpoint in the last year, according to the survey.

Up to Monday morning, 132 people have been killed on Irish roads so far this year — almost on a par with last year, when 133 road-related fatalities were recorded. Both years have shown a marked increase in road deaths, with 136 being killed in the entire 12 months of 2019 for example.

In July, the IFA called for the establishment of a rural crime unit in An Garda Síochána, with the IFA deputy president Alice Doyle saying Northern Ireland, Scotland and several of the UK regions have dedicated rural crime teams solely focused on these crimes and the prevention of same.