Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 February 2014
189. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide a breakdown, per week, of the amount of burglaries reported to be carried out in the Greenhills area of Dublin 12 in the past six months; if there has been an increase in recent weeks; and the extra Garda resources, if any, that are being deployed to deal with the problem. [8757/14]
View answerI am informed by the Garda authorities that the area referred to is within the Crumlin Garda District and that all crime trends in the area are carefully monitored by local Garda management. In this regard I am further informed that Garda data shows an ongoing decrease in burglaries in the District, in line with the national trend.
As the Deputy may be aware the latest crime statistics show that the rate of burglary has decreased by 10.4% nationally for twelve months ending 30 September 2013 and this underlines the impact being made by Gardaí under Operation Fiacla. As part of the measures which are coordinated under Operation Fiacla, Operation Acer is in force throughout the Dublin Metropolitan Region, including the Crumlin District. It is an intelligence driven operation and includes analysis led checkpoints and patrols to target specific areas and case manage targeted offenders. These arrangements are kept under review to ensure adjustments are made to maintain the effective focus of the operation.
Operation Acer operates alongside ongoing community policing measures, including problem solving with the community and providing crime prevention advice and assistance to victims of burglary. There is also full engagement with local Neighbourhood Watch and other community groups in the area.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the deployment of specific Garda resources is a matter for the Garda Commissioner and his management team. I am advised that local Garda Management allocates resources in the context of crime trends, policing needs and other operational strategies to ensure optimum use is made of Garda resources, and the best possible Garda service is provided to the public.
I am further advised by the Garda authorities that it is not An Garda Síochána's policy to provide statistical information to the level of detail requested. Recorded crime statistics at Garda District and station level are available from the Central Statistics Office, as the national statistical agency with responsibility for the compilation and publication of crime statistics.
