Garda blitz on burglaries and thefts brings positive results
GARDAI IN WICKLOW TARGETING PROLIFIC OFFENDERS IN A BID TO REDUCE PROPERTY CRIMES IN ALL THREE GARDA DIVISIONS BUT SOME CRIMES ARE STILL ON THE RISE. REPORTS
in 2016 to 491 in 2017.
Of these, 107 occurred in the Baltinglass area, 234 in Bray and 150 in Wicklow. He said the detection rate for 2017 for these crimes stands at 17 per cent.
Many of these thefts relate to drive-offs from service stations after getting fuel and Chief Superintendent Quirke said there had been a significant increase in such crimes last year.
‘In the last six months of 2017, there were 56 cases, mostly occurring at night.’
The theft of vehicles dropped by seven per cent from 74 in 2016 to 69 in 2017. Of these, 15 took place in Baltinglass which was the same as 2016; 34 took place in Bray, which again remained the same as 2016, while 20 took place in Wicklow – was a drop of five incidents compared to 2016.
He urged homeowners not to leave their keys near the front door to help prevent such crimes.
Thefts of bikes increased by 28 per cent, a rise of 20 cases from 72 in 2016 to 92 in 2016.
Of these, six were in Baltinglass (a drop of one), 65 were in Bray (an increase of 10) and 21 were in Wicklow (an increase of nine).
The detection rate in 2017 was 12 per cent, an increase of 2 per cent.
Chief Superintendent Quirke said that a lot of bikes were being stolen from bus and train stations around the county and the gardaí have increased patrols in these areas.
Thefts from shops were down one per cent, a drop of three from 510 to 507. Of these, 45 were in Baltinglass, 303 in Bray and 159 in Wicklow. There was a detection rate of 60 per cent, a drop of eight per cent.
He said that many of the thefts took place at the Bridgewater Shopping Centre in Arklow and chemist shops around the county.
He said that pharmacies were very vulnerable and thieves were targeting perfume and teeth whitening kits, which were high value items that were easy to sell on.