NEW NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH GROUPS MEETS IN KILCOOLE

MEMBERS of the community and gardaí met in Kilcoole recently for a meeting of the newly-formed Neighbourhood Watch.

Resident and committee member Charlotte Byrne said that they were joined by Chief Superintendent John Quirke and members of the gardaí for the meeting, as well as crime prevention officer Sgt John Gill.

Also attending the meeting at Forester’s Hall were local councillors and members of the local community.

Charlotte said that the purpose of the meeting was to launch the neighbourhood watch scheme.

‘ The entire village has come in under the one umbrella,’ said Charlotte. The vast majority of residents agreed to get involved.

They also indicated whether or not they would be interested in taking any significant role in the organisational end of things.

One of the schemes in place is a text alert, with contact people in each estate who will pass the information to their neighbours either by WhatsApp, text or Facebook.

The next aim is to get signs erected by Wicklow County Council. They will buy their own to be put up by the council.

Charlotte said that this followed the ‘Feet on the Beat’ initiative set up last August following some burglaries and car thefts in the area.

She said that the small group had no political bias, with the main aim of campaigning for the presence of more visible gardai in the area.