10 percent drop in city crime

Galway Bay fm newsroom – There’s been a drop of almost 10 percent in crime across the city.
Despite the positive overall figure, instances of some crimes – including drugs offences and serious assaults – have risen considerably since last year.
At this afternoon’s meeting of the city Joint Policing Committee, attendees heard that heroin is an increasing problem at ‘black spots’ across the city.
A number of councillors referenced heroin ‘black spots’ in the city – with Councillor Frank Fahy claiming that drug dealing was going on openly near the Salmon Weir Bridge within earshot of Mill Street.
Another major topic of discussion was the procedure for disposing of used needles which are being discovered with increasing frequency across the city.
Several councillors referenced an ‘out of hours’ problem where council workers are unavailable between the hours of 5pm and 5am – but Gardai do not have the proper equipment to tackle the problem.
Garda Chief Superintendent Tom Curley pledged to have the issue examined and said he would look into having patrol cars fitted with the necessary equipment to deal with such discoveries.
It was also revealed that Gardai have had significant success in curbing public drinking at key areas like Spanish Arch and the Claddagh.
However, Chief Superintendent Curley warned that the effort was straining his resources and due to cuts in overtime allowances, he would soon have to prioritise other operations.
Councillor Peter Keane wanted to know just how prepared Galway Gardai are for any potential terror attack – with a particular focus on the response time of armed units.
Chief Superintendent Curley said the issue has been given extensive focus and a second armed unit is being created to complement the existing armed response team based at Salthill.
Drink driving figures are unchanged from last year – but Chief Superintendent Curley said the figure of 67 offences is still frightening and advised that in most cases people are significantly rather than slightly over the limit.