Criminals may be known

People in West Clare, who are unconnected to crime, may have vital knowledge in relation to recent burglaries in the region.

 

That’s according to Garda Superintendent Gerry Wall, who confirmed a number of serious incidents are being followed up.

Gardaí are currently investigating the second aggravated burglary in a week after three masked men entered a house in Kilmihil and beat the lone occupant with a bar in the early hours of Good Friday.
The incident occurred between midnight on Thursday, March 28, and Friday, March 29, when the three men entered a house at Lacken, Kilmihil by breaking the front window. 
“When you see a number of crimes like this, in a relatively short space of time, you have to consider that the same people could be involved. There’s a certain amount of local knowledge on their behalf. There are people in the community, unconnected with crime, who have information in relation to these people but aren’t coming forward. I would urge them to use the Garda Confidential Line or indeed contact Kilrush Garda Station in confidence. We will do something about it,” Superintendent Wall stated.

He also encouraged people living alone to contact Kilrush gardaí or their local community alert group.
“If we know about them, then the community garda or the Crime Prevention Officer could visit them. A person from the Community Alert can also visit them. It’s only a matter of getting to know who they are and where they are. We can give them sound advice towards putting in place low cost security measures,” Superintendent Wall added.

“I would urge people to make themselves known to the local community alert. That will help them access a lot of information including information about purchasing low cost security equipment. That is a gateway to improving security for themselves and for giving them peace of mind,” he suggested.

Superintendent Wall believes a large percentage of people employ lax security measures in their homes. 
“We find, in an awful lot of cases, that security is poor either through weak locks on windows or doors. People aren’t taking the necessary precautions to secure their valuables,” he said noting that grants towards the provision of security devices are available for pensioners.

“If people are over 65 they qualify for subsided grants. Some people don’t know that they can avail of them,” Superintendent Wall believes.

He said Kilrush gardaí have apprehended some people in relation to recent burglaries in West Clare.
“We’ve solved four of them. This gang may be a crossover or another group of people. We’re fairly sure that if we get more information from the public that we will be able to make inroads. If people are thinking about their own security and their communities’ security, they should come forward with the information and let us decide on the strength of it,” Superintendent Wall concluded.

During the course of last week’s Kilmihil break-in one of the raiders assaulted the 61-year-old occupant with an iron bar. The man was then forced to hand over cash.
The occupant sustained a broken wrist in the attack as well as some minor facial injuries and had to be treated in hospital.

The intruders were wearing balaclavas and gloves and it is not known how they arrived or left the scene as no vehicle was heard by the occupant. However, one of the culprits was much taller than the others.
This is the second such incident in the past week and follows a burglary in the Inagh/Connolly area last Wednesday morning when an elderly couple were forcibly asked to hand over cash to intruders.

Gardaí in Kilrush are investigating and anyone who can assist them with their enquiries is asked to contact 065 9080550.

Elsewhere in the county, there have been a number of break-ins in the Ennis area and oil and diesel have been stolen in Clarecastle and Kilkee. In Ennistymon, yet another car was found burned out at a local authority estate, the third such incident there and the sixth in the general area in the past year.