Crime prevention pays a key role in maintaining the safety of the community. Although its benefits are by their nature difficult to quantify, they include reducing the incidence and human and financial cost of crime and addressing the fear of crime through awareness and practical action. Crime prevention, however, can only be viewed as part of an overall crime strategy involving detection, investigation and prosecution.
The goals of the Garda Síochána in relation to crime prevention include utilising the latest technology in the fight against crime, promoting the concept of crime prevention through environmental design, identifying new target groups for crime prevention advice and promoting crime prevention and personal protection through the Garda schools programme.
In rural constituencies such as Donegal North-East, crime prevention is the responsibility of Garda district officers, in co-operation with crime prevention officers and community liaison officers. These officers work with the local community to promote the concept of crime prevention and, more specifically, to develop and strengthen anti-crime prevention partnerships.
One such partnership of particular relevance to rural communities is the community alert programme, which is part funded by my Department and run in partnership with Muintir na Tíre. Community alert currently consists of over 1,100 schemes, covering almost 250,000 homes. Under current arrangements, a Garda liaison officer attached to each scheme provides detailed information relating to the security of older persons.
With regard to urban areas, neighbourhood watch has been in operation in Ireland since 1985. There are currently over 2,600 independent schemes countrywide and they provide a sound basis for a partnership between the gardaí and the community, the aim of which is to prevent crime. Neighbourhood watch receives considerable support from the Garda Síochána. The Garda community relations section conducts training seminars for both gardaí and area coordinators as part of their input to neighbourhood watch.