Smart policing will help gardaí prevent crime

Gardaí are preparing to crunch crime data as a major tool in helping them deter and catch culprits in the future.

The county’s most senior garda made his comments about “smart policing” as he officially opened the inaugural Cork Garda Crime Prevention Day in City Hall.

Several experts from different fields of security gave presentations to the public through lectures and providing information at stands about how they can better protect themselves and their property.

“A third of all burglaries are committed through an unsecured door or window. Thursdays and Fridays are the days you are most likely to be burgled,” Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan said.

By simply locking your doors and windows and having a good alarm which is switched on — many people forget this basic precaution — you will cut down on the likelihood that you’ll be burgled.

Commissioner Callinan said that preventing crime was not just up to the gardaí, but also to the public engaging with the gardaí and each other.

However, he added that, from a garda perspective, “smart policing” was becoming a bigger weapon in the fight against crime. This involves garda analysts looking at different crime figures to see where there are trends in different parts of the country and using this information to best effect.

Commissioner Callinan said the force was thus able to use the information to “deter, detect and prosecute” criminals.

He was pleased to note that burglaries in Cork were down 15% compared to last year, and it is believed this is, in part, due to the success of a specific nationwide operation which targets gangs known to travel from outside the region who have previously indulged on many crime sprees.

Sergeant Tony Davis, who is the crime prevention officer for Cork City, said analysts provided weeklyreports on crime statistics which enabled gardaí in the city to identify changes in trends in different areas which they could then respond to.

The weekly reports focus on a wide variety of crimes, including burglaries, theft from the person, theft from cars, unlawful taking of cars, shoplifting, etc.

“These are very detailed reports and they enable us to deploy our resources to specific areas and at certain times,” Sgt Davis said.

Yesterday’s day-long exhibition was organised by the Cork City and Cork County Joint Policing Committees and was jointly opened by Lord Mayor Catherine Clancy and mayor of Co Cork, Noel O’Connor.

It is hoped that it will become an annual event.

Several experts told hundreds of inquisitive visitors how they could prevent themselves becoming a victim of crime. A ‘safety on the internet’ presentation was made by experts from highly successful Cork company Trend Micro.

This was followed by a talk on how communities could develop the use of CCTV to cut down on crimes in their towns.

Information was also provided on how gardaí and communities could use text alerts to reduce crime.

Sgt Ian O’Callaghan, crime prevention officer for West Cork, detailed how farmers could prevent the theft of valuable equipment.

Meanwhile, his counterpart in the Cork North Garda Division, Sgt John Kelly, warned people about a new scam which has raised its head in his region and in Co Kerry.

“Criminals are knocking at people’s doors saying they found money outside which must be the property owners,” said Sgt Kelly. “They insist that it is and when the owner goes inside to check if they have lost money the criminal watches where they keep their cash and then robs them.”

The same thing can also happen on the street. A person comes up to you saying you’ve dropped money. You then check your wallet and they rob it,” the sergeant added.