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
GARDAI in Clare were busiest in January, June and July of last year and note that their resources are most stretched during holiday periods. Chief Superintendent Liam Quinn said the increase in non-headline crime, by 31 per cent, is linked to alcohol.
“It is linked to the increased availability of money and the increased consumption of alcohol. The highest number of incidents occur during holiday time. These are very low in November and May, while the peak time for incidents would be January, June and July. January is linked with New Year’s Day,” he said, adding that a large percentage of incidents coincide with the closure of pubs and nightclubs.
Two pubs in Clare were closed last year for serving alcohol to underage people, while eight have been closed in the courts, over the years, under the Liquor Licensing laws.
The increases in the number of burglaries in Clare is a worry for gardai. There was a huge rise in the number of thefts from shops last year — 221, which is an increase by more than a third. Thefts from unattended vehicles fell by 15 per cent, to 187.
There were three burglaries in which firearms were used (aggravated burglaries) last year, while there were 317 burglaries last year, an increase of five per cent on the figure for 2004. Car break-ins has been particularly prevalent so far this year, and this is being targeted by gardai.
“We have been tracking this carefully. We have identified a number of people who we believe are responsible and are closely monitoring that. We are involved in a major operation across the western seaboard to counteract that,” said Chief Supt Quinn.
“You have groups from outside coming in to Ennis at night and they are hitting 10 to 12 cars at a time.”
There were two incidents of homicide last year and charges were brought in relation to both, which are pending before the courts. Incidents of rape and sexual assault decreased significantly. There were 192 drug seizures last year. 179 people were prosecuted for drugs offences last year, the majority of who were men aged 21 and over. There were 25 cases of breaches of domestic violence last year, 17 of which were for barring order breaches.
There were 4,784 road traffic proceedings initiated last year, which is an increase from 3,634 in 2004.