Garda focus on repeat offenders

Crime in Clare fell by 7% in 2012 compared to 2011 figures and is down 33% on 2008, according to statistics released by the Central Statistics Office.

 

The reduction in crime comes at a time when garda resources are down by 15%, overtime is down 64% and subsistence and travel budgets are down 73% based on December ’08 stats.

The figures reveal significant drops in assaults (down 70 crimes on 2011) and criminal damage (down 50 crimes). The areas that showed increases were burglary offences, which are up five crimes, or 1%, kidnapping and related offences up one on last year and weapons and explosive offences are up two.

The 7% drop is across the 11 broad crimes, which does not include road traffic offences. Eight of the 11 crime categories have decreased by 189 crimes and three have increased by a total of eight crimes.

Within the broader categories, thefts from cars are up 34 on 2011 figures, which have been attributed to an increase in thefts from cars at seaside areas in Fanore/Ballyvaughan. Thefts from the person also increased, by 14 crimes, on 2011. Compared to 2008, the 2012 figures show crime is down 33% or by 1,274 crimes.

Clare’s Chief Superintendent John Kerin has stated that although “one crime is one too many”, he is “very happy with the crime reductions that have been achieved”.
While satisfied with the continuing drop in crime, he was troubled by aggravated burglaries that occurred this past year.
“We have had two serious aggravated burglaries in West Clare towards the latter end of the year which concern me. We certainly don’t want that taking hold in Clare,” he said.

Chief Supt Kerin added that crime in Clare is now at a level where it will be hard to get a reduction from. “Our main focus will be that the rises don’t start occurring,” he said.

With this in mind, he outlined the Clare Garda Division is implementing various strategies to help tackle crime head-on, in particular the division is focusing on recidivist criminals who are active in the county.
“We have increased our check points, we have quadrupled them. We’ve had 6,500 checkpoints carried out this year. A lot of them are solely put in place to let the criminal fraternities see that we are out and about and there would also be intelligence led check points.

“We also have a policy of trying to charge people as early as we can, where evidence exists, getting them before the court, and if they can’t be remanded in custody then we look for really strict bail conditions.

“We have started checking bail conditions more and more to see they are being complied with and, if they are not complying with them, for instance curfews, then we are going back to court and applying to the judge to remand them in custody.

“We have also gone into the case management of recidivist offenders. This is where an individual garda will take responsibility for a recidivist criminal and if he or she has multiple charges from different guards then that garda will manage the caseload to try to get it dealt with more speedily through the courts,” Chief Supt Kerin said.

He added another “effective tool” in deterring criminals and preventing crime is a piece of legislation that allows gardaí to apply to a judge requesting those who have used their cars in the commission of a crime to be disqualified from driving.

Clare’s chief garda said this is something that is not just confined to recidivist criminals but applies across the board.
“There is an authority there under the road traffic legislation to look for that. It is something that we weren’t as proactive in doing in years gone by. We do see it as an effective tool. It is up to the judge how long to disqualify them from driving,” he said.

In addition, Chief Supt Kerin said the division has also applied to the Department of Justice for exclusion orders for foreign nationals living here who are involved in the commission of crime.

In the past the Clare division successfully served an order on a recidivist criminal operating in Clare, and Chief Supt Kerin said further orders have now been sanctioned by the Department of Justice.
“We see this as an effective mechanism to prevent and reduce our crime. A couple of orders have been issued, and those who they have been issued for are on the run. It’s only a matter of time until we get hold of them, serve the notice on them and they’re gone,” he said.

“Another initiative we have is that any warrants being issued by the courts, whether they be penal warrants or bench warrant for these recidivist criminals, we are trying to execute these as soon as we can to try to get these people locked up,” he concluded.