Warning issued despite a drop in burglaries

A NORTHSIDE councillor has warned that Garda resources to tackle crime locally must not be adversely affected by any deals made in the formation of a new Government.

Cllr Brian McDonagh (Lab), who represents the Howth-Malahide Local Electoral Area (LEA), issued the warning after the Central Statistics Office (CSO) released figures which show that burglaries dropped nationally by 5 per cent in 2015 compared to the previous year.

The report showed that burglary and related crime levels have decreased from 12,208 to 11,593 across the Dublin Metropolitan Region (DMR). 

It also showed that 2,170 burglaries had been recorded in the DMR Northern Division, which includes Fingal.

Cllr McDonagh said that while he welcomed the reduction nationally, burglary remains unacceptably high with family homes in Fingal and across Dublin under threat from “ruthless opportunistic burglars”.

“My own apartment block recently suffered from a break-in where thieves were disturbed by a neighbour in the middle of the night and every month I hear of a friend or family being burgled,” Cllr McDonagh told Northside People.

“This problem gets less attention because individual burglaries in suburban areas are not newsworthy. 

“At the moment there is huge political focus on the demands of rural TDs to pour resources into remote locations. While this is understandable, it is not necessarily evidence driven.

“I am worried that north county Dublin, and particularly suburbs like Portmarnock, Kinsealy and Balgriffin, will be further starved of Garda resources to satisfy the demands of rural independents as the price of cobbling together a Government.

“The burglary problem in the Northside suburbs from Balgriffin, Bayside and Kinsealy to Baldoyle, Portmarnock and Swords is still very serious.” 

Cllr McDonagh said mobile Garda burglary squads are to be welcomed and targeting gangs with dedicated operations is bearing fruit.  

However, he said there was also a need for the next Government to make sure that suburban Garda stations like Malahide “don’t lose out due to political deals” and have sufficient capacity to meet normal operational requirements. 

“The next Government will also need to make sure we have a strong enough economy to provide resources to hire more gardai and at decent rates of pay,” added Cllr McDonagh.

Outgoing Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald welcomed the reduction in burglary crime.

“The CSO figures validate the early operational feedback which I received from the Garda Commissioner about the very positive impact of the concentrated efforts of An Garda Síochána to tackle burglary and property crime under Operation Thor,” said Minister Fitzgerald.  

“While the CSO figures show an overall reduction in burglary of 5 per cent for the 12-month period ending on December 31, 2015, there has been a very significant reduction during the last quarter of the year. 

“In fact, the figures for the last quarter of 2015 indicate a reduction of 26.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2014. Furthermore, the CSO figures refer to the period October to December 2015 and Operation Thor commenced on November 1, 2015.” 

Minister Fitzgerald added: “I believe it vindicates the carefully considered strategy to tackle the scourge of burglary crime by enhancing Garda capacity and improving our legislation.”

PhoneWatch managing director Eoin Dunne said the fact that homeowners are becoming more aware of household security is indicative of the decrease in burglary levels nationally.  

“Homeowners are beginning to take control of their home security and through the efforts of An Garda Siochana we are beginning to see the trends reversing,” said Mr Dunne. “However, now is not the time to become complacent, some areas are still experiencing high levels of burglary.”