Cork City gardaí warn of surge in violent assaults

Increased aggressiveness on the streets of Cork City has led to a surge in violent assaults.

And gardaí, concerned by the number of assaults causing harm, say the attacks are being fuelled by a combination of excessive alcohol and drugs.

Superintendent Barry McPolin, who is in charge of policing the city centre, spoke of an “increased aggressiveness on the streets” in recent months.

Many of those arrested, he said, appeared to have switched from drinking beer to consuming spirits and shots on top of other substances.

From Jan 1 to Apr 1, there were 24 reported incidents of assault causing harm in the city centre. Compared with 19 in the same period last year, it was an increase of 26%. Less serious assaults were up from 61 to 73.

A meeting of the Cork City Centre Business Community Safety Forum yesterday heard concern expressed about increased violence, particularly in the Paul Street area.

Dermot Lucey, who manages Paul Street Shopping Centre, claimed a number of “very dangerous people” were congregating in the Huguenot Quarter between 4pm and 8pm most days.

Donal Healy, chief executive of Cork Business Association (CBA), read out a letter from the licensee of Cashman’s Pub on the corner of Paul Street/Academy Street who also claimed the problem was getting out of hand.

Donnacha O’Leary was quoted as saying fighting was commonplace and drug addicts were intimidating customers in his bar and at nearby premises, including restaurants.

Supt McPolin said he was aware of these concerns and like other “flashpoint locations” they were being robustly policed.

“There is increased aggressiveness on the streets. It could be down to a combination of excess alcohol and drugs. We have concerns about this,” he said. “The number of serious assaults is, however, quite low considering the population. It appears people are coming into the city centre after consuming a lot of alcohol and also drugs. In such cases what would normally be an innocuous incident can escalate very quickly.”

Supt McPolin maintained, in general, the city was still a very safe place to socialise and live in.

Other crimes, including public order offences, thefts, shoplifting, burglaries and criminal damage had significantly reduced.

He said gardaí were working closely with publicans and agencies to combat the problem and added that people who abused alcohol and drugs had to take some of the responsibility themselves.