Rachel Farrell
SOUTHSIDERS have been warned not to leave valuables in their cars after new crime figures revealed a significant increase in the number of thefts from vehicles.
Information released to Deputy John Curran (FF) from this month’s Joint Policing Report for the Dublin Metropolitan Region West Division, have revealed an overall 20 per cent increase in thefts from vehicles in the area.
The figures come from information provided by local gardai in Lucan, Ronanstown, Clondalkin and Rathcoole Garda Stations.
“There has been a significant increase in thefts from vehicles across all local areas in Dublin Mid-West,” Deputy Curran said.
“The public must be warned and cautioned not to leave anything valuable unattended in their cars or work vehicles.”
In total, there were 699 thefts from vehicles in 2017 in all local areas across the DMR West Division, an increase of 118 thefts since 2016.
Lucan Garda Station reported 170 thefts in 2017, an increase of 20 per cent. Ronanstown Garda Station reported 163 thefts, an increase of 39 per cent.
Clondalkin Garda Station reported some 259 thefts, an increase of nine per cent while Rathcoole Garda Station reported 107 thefts from vehicles in 2017, an increase of 26 per cent in just 12 months.
Deputy Curran said that with detection rates “very low”, there was a very real need for the allocation of extra Garda resources in this locality.
“Fianna Fáil secured a commitment under the Confidence and Supply Arrangement for increased Garda recruitment,” he said.
“And I am therefore calling for our local Garda stations in Dublin Mid-West to receive an increased allocation of personnel.
“As a member of the Joint Policing Committee I am acutely aware of the issues in our area and regularly raise these matters during debate,” Deputy Curran added.
“It is important that people feel secure and that means having a visible Garda presence in the area.”
Meanwhile, Deputy John Lahart (FF) is raising issues regarding burglaries and assaults that have arisen in the latest Garda figures for the Garda districts of Rathfarnham, Terenure and Tallaght with the bi-monthly Joint Policing Committee (JPC) in South Dublin County Council.
While burglary rates in all these areas decreased in 2017, detection rates are still low, according to Deputy Lahart.
In Rathfarnham, reported burglary was down by six per cent and Terenure saw a decrease of 14 per cent.
Tallaght saw the biggest decrease of the three, down 20 per cent from 2016.
But while burglary rates are down, there are increases in other crimes.
“Burglary rates are down but they couldn’t have really gone any other way, as there was a spike between 2014 and 2016,” Deputy Lahart stated. “The gardaí worked a lot around that issue..
“According to Deputy Lahart, detection rates may be poor because of a lack of Garda resources.
“Garda numbers have dropped and continue to drop,” he said.
“Overall, in Dublin, we’re down 100 gardaí since last year. We’re down almost 1,000 gardaí since 2010.
“I think one of the reasons the detection rate is poor is the lack of time gardaí have to invest in following up these crimes, being able to sit down and establish patterns,” he added.
In January, a report released by An Garda Síochána showed that an increase in burglaries in 2017 was reversed by the end of the year following a new targeted garda operation.
Gardaí said that the problem had worsened throughout 2017, but that the launch of the winter phase of Operation Thor in November of last year reversed an increasing trend.
Since then, gardaí say reported burglaries have dropped by 23 per cent nationally. The reduction was 18 per cent in Dublin.
The operation is described by gardaí as “a multi-strand approach to tackling burglaries with an emphasis on preventing the crime from happening in the first instance”.
Southside People asked the Garda Press Office and the Garda Representative Association (GRA) for comment but had not received one at time of going to press.