Garda station closures saved us €500k
The confirmation comes as the latest crime figures show burglaries rose by 8%, from 26,589 to 28,830, and assaults rose 10%, from 14,548 to 16,054, in the first six months of this year, compared to the same period in 2014. There are now almost 80 reported burglaries and 45 recorded assaults, on average, every day, according to the statistics from the Central Statistics Office. Sexual offences are up from 2,006 to 2,072 (+3%).
The actual overall number of crimes is estimated to be even higher as the CSO reported in the summer that around 30% of offences it examined in a sample year go unrecorded.There has been considerable concern at the escalation in rural crime since the Government opted to press ahead shutting stations.
