IFA & Fingal Farmers to Hold Public Meeting After Spate of GPS Thefts
IFA and Fingal Farmers will hold a joint public meeting on Fri, March 1st to discuss policing and crime in the north Dublin area.
Criminal gangs targeting farmers in the area have stolen €100,000 worth of GPS systems in recent weeks.
IFA Deputy President Alice Doyle said tractors and machinery have been damaged during the thefts, adding to the expense and disruption for the victims of the crimes.
“The level of criminal activity such as illegal hunting; criminal damage to farms; thefts; and threats and intimidation over recent months in the Fingal area has been the catalyst for calling this meeting in the City North Hotel,” she said.
The Deputy President has called for additional Garda patrols and checkpoints to apprehend the criminal gangs.
“We have invited the Gardai and local politicians to attend the meeting next month to hear about the difficulties caused by criminal activity,” Alice Doyle said.
IFA is advising all members to be vigilant and adapt as many precautionary measures as possible. The following are some guidelines to assist members in deterring criminals.
- Where practical, remove the GPS system from the vehicle and store in a secure area, which is alarmed and CCTV monitored.
- Record the serial number, photograph it and store it for safekeeping. There is a free Garda Siochana App for recording all of your property information.
- There are property marking machines in every county. They can be accessed through the Local Authority and through the Garda Crime Prevention Officer or through Property Marking Ireland www.propertymarking.ie. This is a very important and practical measure. Items are marked with an Eircode in several places. A property marking sticker means the item is traceable and not of interest to criminals.
- Motion sensor lights and CCTV cameras which send alerts on your phone are highly recommended.
- Reporting all suspicious activity to 999/112 and using local community WhatsApp and Text Alert notifications.
