Vol. 437 No. 6
277 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Justice if she will give details of the complement of gardaí in the Ballymun area, Dublin 11, in view of the concerns of residents regarding the crime level; and if she will favourably consider increasing the complement of gardaí in this area.
The Garda authorities, who are responsible for the detailed allocation of Garda manpower to individual areas, inform me that the current manpower at Ballymun station is 56. This represents an increase of three gardaí over the past three years. The figure includes one Sergeant and five gardaí engaged on Community Policing duties under the Community Policing Scheme, which was introduced into Ballymun in September, 1991 and was expanded in December, 1993. The Ballymun area is also patrolled daily by the Divisional Task Force and the Drug Unit based at Santry station.
These changes in policing in recent years have had a beneficial effect on crime levels in the area. The provisional crime figures for 1993 show a significant decrease in the level of reported crime since 1991, while the detection rates for the same period have risen from 44 per cent to 55 per cent.
There are no plans to increase the strength at Ballymun station further at present. However, the position will be kept under review having regard to the overall demands on the Force.
