The dwindling number of gardaí patrolling Cork City streets is at crisis point, according to the organisation representing rank-and-file members of the force.

Gardaí are concerned at a recent rise in thefts of catalytic converters from vehicles — the latest of which were stolen in broad daylight from busy car parks in Co Cork.

They say crime doesn’t pay, but in this unique case it will help highlight the good work that many previously unsung young heroes do for their communities.

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

A new hi-tech system is being deployed throughout Cork City and county which will pinpoint the exact position of individual gardaí and their patrol cars, enabling a quicker response to emergencies.

Public representatives say most of their fears about a potential downgrading of policing in a large part of Co Cork have been allayed by senior gardaí.

In a further escalation in their dispute with Garda management, rank-and-file members of the force have taken an unprecedented vote to bar their commissioner, Martin Callinan, and other members of Garda management from the forthcoming annual general meeting of the Garda Representative Association (GRA).

The number of assaults causing harm has dropped significantly in rural parts of Co Cork, but they are on the rise and “from more aggressive” elements in the city.

PRIVATE sponsorship of Garda vehicles is a likely option as budget cuts have put the skids on the purchase of new patrol cars.

A WOMAN who reported being sexually assaulted by a doctor while she was still a teenager believes there may be other victims and she has urged them to contact the gardaí.

SEVEN Garda patrol cars have been decommissioned in parts of Co Cork due to excessive mileage.

GARDAÍ have launched a major initiative in north and east Cork aimed at cracking down on bogus callers who are robbing the elderly and other vulnerable people.

THE organisation representing the country’s rank-and-file gardaí has said its members are prepared to walk out of an archaic Garda station in a Cork suburb if they’re not provided with alternative accommodation soon.

Imitation firearms, drugs and cash has been seized by Gardaí investigating dissident and criminal activity in Cork.

GARDAÍ believe they have found a genuine “Michelin-star drug dealer” who would have put Jamie Oliver and the world’s great brewers to shame with his unusual secret ingredient.

THE Director of Public Prosecutions is to consider laying criminal charges against four men arrested after gardaí discovered a handgun, two baseball bats and balaclavas in their car.

GARDAÍ believe they have “significantly damaged” a drugs ring supplying the southside of Cork city, following the arrest of three men and the seizure of cannabis worth in the region of €100,000.

A MAN in his mid-30s was arrested by gardaí yesterday in connection with an investigation into an alleged serious sexual assault in a Co Cork town.

GARDAÍ swooped on a premises in south Tipperary last night and arrested three men.

GARDAÍ were yesterday waiting to interview three lorry drivers who were seriously injured in a horrific accident which claimed the life of a 34-year-old Polish man.

GARDAÍ are set to interview an elderly priest after receiving a number of allegations that he sexually abused young girls.

THE last hours of 2006 brought horror to the town of Fermoy.

MUINTIR na Tíre has criticised garda manpower levels in Cork and Kerry, following the publication of figures which show most other regions in the country have significantly more gardaí per head of population.

A JUMP of 17% in daylight burglaries in rural areas is being blamed on a lack of garda manpower.