Crime figures show sanctions are too weak

Paddy Lyons, the 90-year-old Waterford farmer who was beaten to death in his isolated home, was buried this week.

A single man, he lived alone and, like any person of his age, he was hardly in a position to defend himself. He was not the first elderly person targetted because he lived in a remote place. Nor, unfortunately, will he be the last.

Just last month, the High Court heard that a Tipperary farmer, also living alone in an isolated area felt so threatened that he gave more than €83,000 over a number of years to a gang that purported to do farm work such as painting sheds or installing closed-circuit television.

The court granted temporary injunctions restraining 17 people from coming near the farmer or his farm. The judge was told the defendants’ addresses were unknown but that they lived in Ireland. They are to be contacted via mobile phones. Hardly a situation that inspires confidence.

Days after Paddy Lyons was buried, a report on crime in farm communities was published. Agricultural Crime in Ireland, produced by the Waterford Institute of Technology for the Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSFA), found that two-thirds of farmers have been victims of crime.

That is an extraordinarily high ratio and suggests criminals who focus on farms have a pretty free run. The ICSFA believes the “startling” results show that countryside crime is more serious than official figures suggest. Recent uncertainty around the classification of crime give weight to this argument.

As rural communities age, they face an increase in crime, a situation exacerbated by a perception of threat rooted in the closure of garda stations. It is not hard to have sympathy with that argument as nothing reassures a community that feels under threat more than the active presence of local gardaí.

Sadly, that is the reality no matter how garda authorities dress up the concentration of gardaí in ever-fewer stations. This reality has been highlighted at angry meetings right across rural Ireland.

Damage to property or theft are the most common offences but fraud and assault are also reported. ICSFA president Patrick Kent reflected a commonly held view: “The judicial system provides virtually no deterrent ... courts have adopted a far too lenient approach to offenders, particularly to repeat offenders.”

It is more difficult than it should be to dismiss that charge. One recent case supports it in the most incredible way. Eamon Lynch, who had almost 500 convictions was jailed for 18 months after pleading guilty to careless driving causing the death of a teenager. 18 months?

The ICSFA report is not the only one that has recorded an increase in crime. Gardaí are being assaulted with increasing regularity. In 2012, there were 174 attacks on gardaí but last year there were 259 — an increase of almost 50%.

Rural communities have responded with various community watch schemes but they are unlikely to win this battle without an increase in garda numbers — especially stations. The courts need to impose sanctions that might actually deter criminals rather than ones that are little more than a passing inconvenience for professional criminals.