Detections for possession of drugs for sale or supply locally have increased 14% on last year, rising from 325 to 474, according to the latest local garda crime statistics.

Good police work involves gardaí using their own discretion, including “squaring” minor prosecutions for members of the public who gardaí may depend on when investigating more serious crimes, a former garda has claimed.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris is expected to decide in the coming weeks what garda divisions are to lose their headquarters under the new Garda restructuring strategy.

But all the chairmen of the joint policing committees spoken to agreed that the new policing model must result in additional garda resources on the ground – which Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said the plan will involve.

Senior gardaí also confirmed assaults increased, in the first three months, and underlined their concern most were drug-fuelled

Gardaí in Cork believe they have dismantled an organised car-theft gang which was behind a spate of incidents in the city and suburbs in recent months.

Gardaí say they are adopting a “very balanced approach” to enforcement of the controversial new time-regulated bus lanes on Cork’s St Patrick’s Street.

Three teenage female college students have been raped in Cork since the start of the university term.

The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) has 30 targets in its sights in Cork but has asked the public for more tip-offs about people who may be living suspiciously lavish lifestyles.

A Joint Policing Committee (JPC) is demanding answers as to why, more than two years after a Government announcement, no progress has been made to replace a garda station which has been described as one of the worst in the country.

There have been calls for a 2km traffic exclusion zone around Cork’s Páirc Uí Chaoimh during big games amid claims that parking by some matchgoers is now a threat to public safety.

Gardaí have made 36 arrests for begging in Cork City so far this month as part of a crackdown on a new wave of ‘commercial begging’ activity in the city centre.

A total of 22 motorists have tested positive for driving under the influence of drugs so far this year in Cork, with cannabis and cocaine the most common drugs detected.

The largest Joint Policing Committee (JPC) in the country is to ask the insurance industry to provide discounts to customers who detail descriptions, makes, models, and serial numbers of valuable property in a logbook.

An Garda Síochána is supporting the forthcoming supervised injecting centre not just because it’s Government policy but because it is the “right thing to do”, Dublin’s police chief says.

The number of frontline gardaí based in several Cork City Garda stations is still at 2010 levels despite the arrival of 15 probationary gardaí in two districts this week.

A suspected criminal gang of heartless burglars targeting the homes of people mourning the deaths of teen road crash victims, Oisín Cahill and Darragh Killeen was intercepted by Gardai last week.

The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is conducting 14 investigations in Cork city and county, targeting drug dealers, gangs of burglars, and those involved in organised prostitution.

Household burglaries in Cork City and county have risen by 40% in recent months compared to the same period last year.

All took place in Killarney, amid sharp increase in Kerry break-ins

Families have been forced to sell their homes in Cork’s university quarter because of a surge in anti-social student behaviour, the leader of the Seanad has claimed.

Alcohol addiction is far more serious in Cork and Kerry than drug addiction, according to an expert from the HSE.

Senior gardaí have warned students against scam artists operating in Cork City and its suburbs ahead of the new college year and have also told farmers about a craze in quad bike thefts.

Nearly 30% more suspected drink-drivers have been arrested in Cork city and county in the past three months compared to the same period last year.

Shannon Airport is a soft touch for terrorists, according to claims by a Limerick councillor who used to work at the airport x-raying passengers luggage.

The chairman of the Cork County Joint Policing Committee (JPC) is contacting Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan urging her to provide detectives in Cork with proper firearms training and bullet-proof shields to defuse a row which could lead to the withdrawal in the region of round-the-clock armed cover.

Voluntary body Munitir Na Tire has produced a booklet for people to log details of valuable possessions, to assist gardaí in the event of a home burglary.

Residents of an estate blighted by antisocial behaviour disrupted a meeting in Cork’s City Hall yesterday when they were refused permission to address senior gardaí.

Rogue landlords will face legal action if they fail to tackle tenants’ anti-social behaviour, particularly in student houses, the lord mayor of Cork has warned.

Rolling garda checkpoints targeting motorway exit ramps have contributed to an almost halving of burglary rates across Cork, new figures show.

Several members of a Cork City-based gang believed to be responsible for a spate of car thefts across the city in recent months have been arrested.

If you’re heading to Cork City for the sales, you’re most likely to get caught for illegal parking in the South Mall and Connaught Avenue/Donovan’s Rd areas.

A special Garda unit set up in Cork City to tackle water protests has been scaled back as those involved in anti-metering demonstrations have been well- behaved.

Got neighbours from hell? - then take the advice of a top garda who was a victim of them.

There has been a sharp rise in incidents of stalking in Kerry.

Gardaí and customs officials have significantly increased surveillance and spot checks at Ringaskiddy Port in Co Cork in the belief that criminal gangs have been smuggling expensive farm and construction machinery out of the country in containers.

Gardaí have been forced to move prisoners to other stations for the last number of weeks because a fault has closed down all the cells in a divisional headquarters.

A Garda operation in Dublin against serial burglars resulted in a 54% increase in break-ins to homes in Cork City and suburbs.

Gardaí are planning further undercover anti-heroin operations in Cork City following Operation Emerson which led to the recent arrest of 23 street dealers.

Nearly 90 people have died from heroin and other opiates in Cork City in the past 11 years, according to coroner Myra Cullinane.

Gardaí say that they cannot tackle the heroin problem on their own, that repeatedly arresting addicts is not the solution, and that pooling resources and ideas from different agencies and the public is the only way to address the issue.