Text alert system is doing the job of rural crime prevention
IFA President Eddie Downey has noted the scheme’s importance in preventing rural crime. “The IFA continues to support community text alert as a vital tool in preventing rural crime. We recognise the significant impact this service can have in supporting the safety of rural communities.
“IFA is working closely with An Garda Síochána to continue to roll out text alert initiatives across our branch structure and further strengthen our community text alert network.”
Text Alert was launched a year ago, and there are now over 450 Text Alert groups throughout the country, with more than 80,000 people signed up to the scheme.
The joint initiative of An Garda Síochána, Muintir na Tíre, Neighbourhood Watch and the Irish Farmers Association, Text Alert enables communities to set up a group to receive alerts advising them of suspicious or criminal activity in their area. As well as ensuring awareness among users of the service, it can also lead to them reporting suspicious activity to Gardaí.
Assistant Commissioner Jack Nolan says: ‘’Sending the information by text means it can be rapidly sent to a large amount of people in a cost-effective way. Members of the public report incidents to the widely advertised 24-hour Garda District telephone number. The reporting garda verifies details and determines that the Text Alert system should be utilised. The garda sends text or e-mail out to each registered community contact in their garda district. Each community contact forwards the text to their community group, to advise the public to watch out and report any developments. If the information is received by e-mail, the community contact may forward the e-mail or convert the content to SMS text and send it to their community group’’ .
He cited an example of its effectiveness in a recent case of theft in the midlands. A male reported the theft of his vehicle to Gardaí, and identified a suspect vehicle involved in this theft. It was also believed this suspect vehicle had been involved in the theft of another vehicle the day before.
A text alert was sent out to targeted areas regarding the suspicious vehicle.
According to Commissioner Nolan, ‘’Every rural Garda Division already has a number of text alert groups in operation. Since March, An Garda Síochána’s Community Relations Bureau has been actively targeting urban areas. Within the last two weeks, eight such groups have been set up in the Portmarnock-Malahide area alone’.
He added, “We have found that as an immediate, cost-effective method of engagement with the communities we serve, the text alert system has proved to be invaluable. We will continue to ensure that the system is used in conjunction with communities around the country, both rural and urban, as it has proved to be a worthwhile method of engagement”.
Muintir na Tíre president John Hogan said: “The community text alert programme, in partnership with An Garda Síochána, has allowed communities to rapidly exchange information, and gives communities a say in policing in their own areas.”
