Beara businesses unite counties in anti-crime plan

Up to 200 peninsula businesses in the South-West have join forces in a new crime prevention initiative.

The Beara Peninsula project, backed by gardaí in West Cork and South Kerry, is the first inter-county business crime watch.

Recent crime incidents, combined with the closure of garda stations, prompted the scheme, which will encompass all towns and villages between Glengarriff and Kenmare.

Castletownbere-based publican and nightclub owner Colman O’Sullivan said: “It’s primarily a preventative measure. We had some incidents but all of us in business in the Beara region feel it’s best to assist each other.

“We hope, within minutes of any incident, to alert every business across the region. We might cut each other’s throats when it comes to football between Cork and Kerry but, on a serious note, it’s important we all look out for each other.”

Mr O’Sullivan said all gardaí in the region fully supported the initiative.

Crime prevention officer for West Cork, Garda Ian O’Callaghan, will launch the Beara Business Watch this evening in Castletownbere’s Forge Nite Club.

Mr O’Sullivan, meanwhile, said all members of the scheme will also be urged to offer assurance to the elderly in the region by offering a central phone number, to be issued after tonight’s meeting.

“It goes without saying the initiative will also inject a sense of security into people living in rural areas,” he said.

New information signs, promoting the business watch scheme, will also be erected on all routes into the peninsula from West Cork and South Kerry.

Allihies-based Claire O’Sullivan, a spokesperson for the new group, said: “Due to the vastness of the peninsula, a crime could take place in one area without another business in the region knowing about it for some time.

“This system will aim to bridge the geographical gaps that are unavoidable in rural areas such as this.”

The unique element of the crime watch scheme was, she said, the involvement of businesses in both counties.

“One of the main gateways to the Beara Peninsula is through Co Kerry and would be a main escape route for any criminals,” she said. “In order to try and control this and to ensure the effectiveness of the alert system there will be businesses from the neighbouring townlands and towns as far as Kenmare involved in the association.

“This, of course, will be mutually beneficial for these businesses in Kerry also as, if any crime occurs in Beara, they may well be next on the criminal’s path, so if they are alerted ahead of time they can also be more mindful of their surroundings and businesses in the coming hours and days.”