Commissioner Acknowledges Crime Increase

The latest crime figures released by the Central Statistics Office shows many crimes are continuing to increase, and has prompted an appeal from the Garda Commissioner.

Crimes such as robbery, extortion and hijacking rose from 572 last year by over 100 to 659 this year. Meanwhile, burglaries have gone up by over 1,000.

Commenting on the publication by the statistics office for crime, the Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy highlighted the need for a renewed partnership between gardaí and the community in tackling crimes such as burglary and theft.

The commissioner admitted the figures published showed an increase in the crimes of burglary, theft and robbery, "which have a very real impact on the quality of life in our community."

He said: "Gardaí will continue to target the people who are committing these crimes with intelligence-led, focused operations. Given that burglaries and thefts, in particular, are opportunistic crimes, we would appeal once again to people to take care of their property and not leave their homes and property vulnerable to criminals who are looking for an easy profit."

The Commissioner’s comments follow on from a nationwide crime prevention campaign in late April which focused on reducing the levels of burglary and theft.

Pointing to the additional information which is now available to the public about the nature and number of crimes across a range of categories, he said: "This presentation of statistics allows the public to see clearly the levels of garda activity in dealing with public order and drugs offences.

"Offence levels in these categories are largely driven by proactive garda activity to effectively address behaviour that has an adverse impact on our communities in towns and cities across the country."

Acknowledging that significant work is required to turn the upwards crime trend around, the Commissioner revealed that last Wednesday he had called a meeting with the entire management team and all operational Chief Superintendents to discuss the current crime levels and to look again at the forces practices.

He said: "Our focused work will continue and we remain committed to working with the community and other agencies to ensure the safety and security of people throughout the country."

(DW)