Big increase in sex crimes in Galway in year to date

There was a staggering increase in reports of serious and sexual assaults in the first quarter of 2015 in Galway City, however overall crime was down in the period by 15% compared to last year.

According to figures released by the Gardaí to the Galway City Joint Policing Committee, the number of incidents reported to officers in divisional district dropped to 1,673 for the first three months of the year, including the number of burglaries, which fell by over a third to 109.

The trend for home invasions is still worryingly high – there were 274 burglaries reported across the whole of 2014 in the division, with 105 successful prosecutions.

While theft from shops jumped by a third, the incidence of car break-ins plummeted by nearly 70%. People caught for possessing drugs dropped by almost half – with cannabis still the drug of choice in the city with €50,000 worth of weed confiscated in the period.

There were 13 incidents of assault causing harm in the first quarter – a 44% hike in cases reported. There were seven reports of sexual assault – up by 75% on the same period last year.

Superintendent Marie Skehill said six of these cases were historical.

During the three months, 134 checkpoints were mounted and over 1,000 breath tests performed, leading to the detection of 44 drunk drivers, a minor increase.

Fine Gael Councillor Padraig Conneely pointed to the 275 public order offences reported in a very short period as evidence that violence was on the increase.

“Assaults causing harm – serious assaults – are up by 34%, that’s of concern. I read court reports about these and they’re getting more vicious. I feel the regime of sentencing is not strong enough. Anybody who uses a bottle or glass should get five years.”

Cllr Frank Fahy (FG) remarked on the €14,000 worth of Ecstasy confiscated.

“I probably find Ecstasy tablets more often in my taxi that I find €5 or €10. I can see the effect on people. They are very disorientated. It draws them to water. A lot of people who end up in water are accidental drownings as a result of Ecstasy rather than deliberate suicide.”

Cllr Catherine Connolly (Ind) believed fewer people were reporting crimes such as sexual assault or burglary due to the cut in support services and fewer Gardaí on duty to visit a home broken into.

Cllr Niall McNelis (Lab) said businesses around town were concerned there was lots of petty theft being perpetrated but not being reported.

Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (SF) asked how local politicians could stand over the crime figures following serious concerns raised by the Central Statistics Office about the accuracy of how crime was recorded by Gardaí. He referred to a report by the Garda Inspectorate which found that nearly one third of offences reported by the public were not being recorded on the Garda Pulse system.

Superintendent Marie Skehill said incidents of crime were reported to the Garda Information Services Centre  (GISC) staffed by civilians in Castlebar for inclusion on the Pulse system.

Operation Aimsir was still underway in the city, which involved identifying ten of the city’s most prolific burglars, following them in a bid to catch them in the act of a crime and monitoring them while out on bail.