Thieves snatch €6.6m in 3,000 raids

OVER €6.6 million in cash and goods was stolen in robberies and burglaries over the last year, according to garda figures.

Details given by Justice Minister Michael McDowell to the Dáil show that there were almost 3,000 aggravated burglaries and robberies from individuals, transit vehicles or businesses in the past year. The value of the property stolen was €6,665,864 but does not include that taken in common burglaries, where a weapon is not carried or used.

Of 2,901 offences, just one-in-three was detected where the offender or offenders had been identified. However, figures on arrests, charges and convictions were not given in the reply to the question by Fine Gael TD Bernard Durkan.

Fine Gael justice spokesperson Jim O’Keeffe said the low detection rate was not surprising, given that the gardaí are under-staffed.

“We might expect a higher detection rate if the gardaí were properly resourced and equipped. But as long as they are short the 2,000 members promised by the Government, they are fighting crime with one hand tied behind their backs,” he said.

“The Government should do what they have promised, because garda numbers have only risen by 200 since that promise was made,” Mr O’Keeffe said.

The minister was unable to say whether the robberies were carried out by professionals or other groups.

“I am informed by the garda authorities that the information in relation to whether the offences were committed by specific groups is not readily available and could only be obtained by a disproportionate expenditure of garda time and resources,” he said.

The value of stolen property given by Mr McDowell does not include common burglary, estimated to result in €58 million being taken from homes every year.

A report published by Eircom PhoneWatch last November estimated an average €3,600 was taken from more than 16,000 private residences in the year to June 2004, with more than one-third of all cases happening in Dublin.

Recent figures included in the provisional crime statistics for 2004 showed that there were 24,475 burglaries, down more than 3% on the previous year. There was a drop of 14% in aggravated burglaries to 286.

However, the number of robberies from businesses and cash or goods in transit both rose last year, including 62 crimes in the latter category.