This article is from page 4 of the 2006-05-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
THE number of offences being committed by juveniles in Clare has risen sharply, by almost 50 per cent.
Official statistics contained in the Garda Annual Report show that 576 referrals were made from the Clare Garda Division to the Garda National Juvenile Officer throughout last year.
This is a 48 per cent increase on the figure for 2004 (388).
Some 459 individual children were referred, under the Juvenile Liaison programme, last year.
This is an increase on 355 during 2004.
Fifty-nine of the 459 were deemed unsuitable for inclusion under the programme. Sixty-nine were issued with formal cautions; 267 received informal cautions while no further action was taken against 33.
Cases involving 31 of the youths are still pending.
Nationally, thefts accounted for 18 per cent of offences committed by youths, with criminal damage accounting for 10 per cent, followed by public order (nine per cent).
This trend is similar in Clare, according to Chief Superintendent Liam Quinn.
A second juvenile liaison officer (JLO), Garda Margaret Purcell, was appointed last year and works in conjunction with Garda John O’Neill.
“We have sent up a second JLO and that has increased our capacity to deal with that,” said Chief Superintendent Quinn.
“This is focusing on anti-social behaviour in the town,” he added.
The fight against crime in housing estates in Ennis has been boosted through the appointment of four community gardai in separate geographical areas.
Garda Tim Ryan is based in Ennis town, Garda Albert Hardiman is responsible for Cloughleigh, Garda Irene O’Flynn is based in the Lahinch Road area and Garda Jeremy Murphy is focused on the Tulla Road.