Failing to report thefts encourages criminals to return, Garda tells Tipperary Policing Committee

A Garda chief has stressed to farmers and agricultural contractors who feel it’s not worth reporting thefts of their property to gardaí that failing to do so is only an encouragement to criminals to return and steal more.

This was the message Garda Chief Superintendent Colm O’Sullivan gave to the agricultural community at the quarterly meeting of Tipperary Joint Policing Committee in Tipperary Town.

Joint Policing Committee Chairman Cllr Noel Coonan had reported to him an unwillingness by many farmers and agricultural contractors to report property crimes committed against them any more.

The Fine Gael councillor told the meeting that it was a cause of concern in rural Ireland that property crimes have increased but he had met people who said to him “what is the point” when you ask them to report a theft or burglary to the gardaí.

“There is a point,” Chief Supt. O'Sullivan responded emphatically.

He went onto explain that every crime that goes unreported means the Gardaí can’t build a picture of what is happening in an areas.

He said a garda may stop a car with (stolen) property inside it but if a crime is not reported they can’t return that property to its rightful owner.

The Chief Superintendent also pointed out that not bothering to report crimes may encourage criminals to revisit an area because of the fact their activities have not come to the attention of the gardaí.

“If we are not active in investigating, it’s just sending out a signal come back here,” he stressed.