Galway crime figures come tumbling down
Crime levels across the county have fallen by one-third on last year – with major drops across all categories except breaches of barring orders and sexual assaults.
Burglaries were down 44% to 217 for the first ten months of 2016 over the same period last year, with theft from vehicles down 36% to 120, and theft of mainly mobile phones from people down 32% to 13.
Shoplifting was down 6% to 160 while all other theft had also dropped by 39% to 242 incidents.
Chief Supt Tom Curley said there was now a high visibility of garda patrol cars in the county coupled with extra funding through Operation Thor, a national campaign with senior officers in each division targeting organised criminals in a bid to thwart rural crime.
He said senior officers in each division were continually targeting the top ten criminals in a bid to thwart crime.
“There could be half a dozen people committing crime on a regular basis. You arrest them and notice a drop off. In Tuam over the summer of 2016 we identified key players and are getting evidence and prosecuting them in the courts,” he stated.
“You can’t underestimate them – they go back out or have friends who replace them.”
See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.