Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 November 2016
38. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if recorded crime statistics for counties Sligo and Leitrim are an accurate reflection of the reality of crime in the area; if all Garda stations in counties Sligo and Leitrim have access to the PULSE system; if not, the details of the stations without access; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34729/16]
View answerThis is a similar question. It is whether the people of Sligo can have confidence that the recorded crime statistics for the area are an accurate reflection of the reality of crime in the area, whether all Garda stations in Sligo and Leitrim have access to the PULSE system and, if not, if the Tánaiste can provide details of the stations without access. It would also be remiss of me not to raise the issue of an Iranian national in direct provision in Globe House in Sligo who has been on hunger strike for 36 days. His name is Amjad Rosstami and I understand he has been moved to Sligo University Hospital. This relates to a deportation order.
Deputy, you are straying beyond the question you tabled.
I know, but there is no question that the man's life is in danger. I ask the Minister to consider rescinding that deportation order until such time as this case can be investigated properly.
I understand that progress has been made on that case. We all share the Deputy's concern about the humanitarian issues that arise in that situation.
To return to the question tabled by the Deputy, a concerted Garda drive against crime is being implemented under Operation Thor, and in Sligo and Leitrim Garda divisions the figures show a reduction in burglary of 25%.
Given that the Deputy has been in the Chamber, I will not repeat what I have already said. A number of Deputies asked the same question regarding their particular areas. The same resource allocation issues arise for the Deputy's area as in other areas. Continued recruitment is key and there is an agreement in the programme for Government that we will have a police force of 15,000 over the coming years. Increased civilianisation is very important as is recruiting more members of the Garda Reserve. We have improved procedures. There is work to be done on confidence in the statistics and it is ongoing. I have already said it is an international issue and that 92% of crimes that are reported by the Garda come in through the GISC in Castlebar. I hope to see a move to more mobile technology being used by the Garda Síochána. It is one of the key initiatives, along with improving the PULSE system, we will need to take in terms of the technology available to gardaí, the same as what we see in New York and other places where police are using iPads and phones to access information and record crimes.
We in Ballymote are very fortunate to have a very modern Garda station which caters for the south-east and west of County Sligo. However, there is an issue with the Garda station in Sligo town. It is a very outdated building and more than 100 personnel work there on a daily basis. Could the Minister use her good offices to try to progress the proposed new Garda station for Sligo town? We all recognise the work done by gardaí.
It is important they have proper working conditions. I would appreciate any support. While we are fortunate in our area, there have been increases in a number of crimes such as controlled drug offences and sexual offences, which is a little worrying. All other crimes, such as robbery and extortion, seem to have decreased in 2016.
Many Deputies have mentioned household crime, or burglaries. In the year ending in the third quarter of 2015, household crime was at its lowest level since the crime and victimisation survey which began in 1998, when it was 12%. We need to recognise that the fear of crime can be an issue for people and can, sometimes, be greater than what is happening in an area. I do not for a moment underestimate the impact one crime has on one person. One crime is one too many. We must recognise that there have been successes by the Garda Síochána regarding various categories of crime. There are other issues, as Deputies have identified, regarding sexual crimes and instances of domestic violence and we need to focus on those issues as well as continuing the fight against burglaries that we have seen.
