Gangs behind rise in robberies from cars

There was a 43% hike in thefts from vehicles with work tools the main target for thieves across the county.

The number of vehicles robbed in the first six months of this year reached 100 – up from 70 over the same period last year.

Gardaí had apprehended one crime gang from Cork who had travelled up solely to break into vehicles while another from Offaly had committed 20 thefts on a single night. The culprits were often targeting yards wearing high-vis jackets so they blended into the environment while stealing very expensive equipment.

The latest crime statistics from the Gardaí presented at this quarter’s County Joint Policing Committee meeting saw shoplifting down by 14% to 85 incidents while burglary was up eight cases to 168.

Serious assaults were up 17% to 34 while minor assaults were down 12% to 148 and public order offences were down 13% to 164.

While the number of drunk drivers detected was down 13 to 113, Chief Superintendent Tom Curley revealed that in the last ten days as many drivers had been caught.

There were 25 cases of non-aggravated sexual assault recorded in the last six months.

Cllr Seosamh Ó Cualáin highlighted significant decrease in road accidents over more than a decade.  Yet people were being quoted €6,000 for insurance premiums. His own had skyrocketed by 75% without recording penalty points or any accident.

“There has been great work by agencies and Gardaí getting the figures down. In 2004-2005 this country was the sixth worst country in the EU in terms of fatalities. We’re now fourth best…people are not being rewarded for the efforts being made. The cost of insurance is astronomical – it’s extortion what’s going on.”

Fellow independent Cllr James Charity said nothing had emerged about the raid by the EU Competition Authority on insurance company offices.

He labelled it the biggest conflict of interest to allow insurance company to fund a fraud office, targeting fraudulent claims.

“You can be sure they’ll pass on the cost,” he remarked.

In the first half of 2018 there had been a 38% decrease in motorists driving without insurance, falling to 145.