Most shoplifting in Cork carried out by under 18s, says Garda analyst

MORE than 50% of shoplifting carried out in Cork city is being perpetrated by people under 18, a Garda crime analyst has discovered.

Thefts from shops have increased by 14% in the third quarter of this year, compared with figures for the same period in 2009.

Last year there were 445 recorded shoplifting cases in the three-months between July and September.

That jumped to 506 this year and it appears that last month’s crime figures, which haven’t yet been released, will show that the upward trend is continuing.

However, according to Superintendent Barry McPolin, who controls policing in the city centre where the bulk of shops are located, the majority of shoplifters were young teenagers, under the age of 18, who in the main were not repeat offenders.

According to gardaí these offenders were likely to steal what were described on the whole as “low value” items, as compared with well-organised gangs who went for higher end products.

Nonetheless, gardaí said these thefts were still crimes which they were determined to reduce.

The vast majority of the youngsters arrested were dealt with by the Garda juvenile liaison system and didn’t face the courts.

Supt McPolin said that in some cases newly opened retail units were more vulnerable as they were trying to find their feet in terms of security and they were being targeted by young people.

“We are making inroads into this and a lot of work is in progress to counteract it,” Supt McPolin said.

He added that gardaí were working very closely with the business community to tackle the issue.

Chief Superintendent Michael Finn said gardaí wouldn’t take shoplifting or any other crime lightly.

Gardaí have a dedicated team in the city centre targeting shoplifters and stores, in general, have become more and more aware of the problem because it is affecting their bottom line.

Latest statistics released by the gardaí through the Cork City Joint Policing Committee show, however, that most crimes are down.

Assaults causing harm fell by 15% from 60 to 50 in the comparison period, while minor assaults were also down 9% from 174 to 158.

Chief Supt Finn told the Cork City Joint Policing Committee earlier this week that the streets of the city centre were noticeably quieter this year and he maintained it was down to the fact that young people had less money in their pockets because of the recession.

However, gardaí have arrested more people for being drunk.

The chief superintendent said that this was because they now had time to focus on general drunkenness as serious street fighting was diminishing.

Chief Supt Finn said he would supply the committee with a breakdown of the numbers and age profiles of people arrested in the last year for being drunk. He will present the figure at the committee meeting next January.