FIGURES SHOW RISE IN ASSAULTS IN GALWAY

Date Published: 06-Dec-2011

The number of assaults in the city is on the increase, contrary to the national trend.

The latest City Joint Policing Committee meeting has revealed that there were 89 such assaults in the Galway Garda division over the past 11 months, a jump of almost 50percent.

Chief Superintendent Donal O'Cualáin told members that this bucked the national trend but it related to the summer months, and assaults were declining since then.

The latest crime stats also revealed that crime overall dropped by 22 per cent in the city, with burglaries down by a quarter to 400 incidents. (24%)

Garda action on drugs remains high, with the number of growhouses detected rising by a third (30%) and the number of possession incidents dropping by almost a quarter. (23%)

Chief Superintendent O'Cualáin said this shows more drugs are being taken out of circulation in Galway.

Domestic violence incidents rose by 18 per cent, with Garda chiefs saying the recession and financial strains were contributing factors.

Sex crimes across the city are significantly reduced however, with rapes down by 9 per cent, sexual assaults down by 8 per cent, and there were no aggravated sexual assaults at all in the city over the past year, a drop of 100 per cent.