‘Blanket policing’ call as hunt for killer continues

BLANKET policing of Southill was demanded yesterday as the murder hunt continued in Limerick for the killer of part-time security worker Noel Crawford.

Mr Crawford’s funeral will take place tomorrow.

The call for round-the-clock garda patrols was made by Labour councillor James Houlihan, as he addressed the city’s three most senior officers at a meeting of Limerick’s Joint Policing Committee.

Mr Houlihan said: “What the gardaí are doing is not enough in Southill. We need a blanket 24-hour presence in areas like this where people are being burned out of their homes.”

Chief Superintendent Willie Keane, who attended the meeting along with Supt Gerry Mahon and Supt Frank O’Brien, said 32 additional gardaí had been stationed in the city since July and members of the Garda Reserve would be joining officers on duty in Limerick in the coming months.

Cllr John Ryan (Lab) said the city was not doing well with regards to crime.

He added: “We have had tragedy after tragedy, criminality after criminality. People say we should not talk about these things but no matter what festival we have, something happens.”

Meanwhile, assistant state pathologist Dr Michael Curtis conducted a postmortem on Mr Crawford, shot dead early on Monday outside his mother’s home where he had called to celebrate his 40th birthday.

He died from a single bullet to the stomach. Gardaí believe the gunman was targeting the dead man’s brother, Paul, who escaped three recent shooting attempts.