Farm crime and trust in the Police in Ireland

The true extent of crime against farms in Ireland is unknown as official statistics are not collected on this specific area of crime. The Irish Farm Crime Survey sought to enhance understanding of farm crime by undertaking a national survey of farmers on their experiences of crime, with a particular focus on trust and confidence in the police, including their willingness to report incidents of crime. Responses to an open question at the end of the survey gave a voice to the individual farmer participants in the survey. The study found that in general Irish farmers have a positive or neutral attitude towards the police, and in their open responses, they responded well to engagement by community policing efforts. This is important and may provide a basis for making policing more present in rural life, which was regarded as important by many of the study’s participants.