Gardaí encourage homeowners to use their free app to counter winter burglaries

Detective Chief Superintendent Seamus Boland, said that burglary is a crime that can have a profound negative impact on a person, beyond any property damage or monetary losses. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Winter can be the most wonderful time of the year for burglars unless the public remains vigilant, gardaí have warned.

Burglars and organised crime gangs will be looking to capitalise on the long, dark evenings and the busy social season to get in and out of houses undetected.

The more organised gangs can get in and out of a house in a matter of minutes so it is important to be on alert and to look out for vulnerable or older neighbours.

Last winter, there were 4,595 burglaries recorded, down 4,118 from the same period in 2019. Of the 4,595, 2,988 were residential burglaries.

In the eight years since Operation Thor was introduced, the number of home burglaries over the winter has fallen by 75%. The continuing downward trend over the past number of years is welcome but not a reason to become complacent.

Speaking on Wednesday, Detective Superintendent Seamus Boland said that burglary is a crime that can have a profound negative impact on a person, beyond any property damage or monetary losses. For some, after a burglary, their home no longer feels like a safe place.

He said that burglars, like all criminals, will take the path of least resistance so it is vital that homeowners ensure they take simple measures such as keeping doors and windows locked, storing house and car keys out of sight, and not keeping large amounts of cash or jewellery in the house.

Modern security systems have become more affordable, said Det. Supt Boland, and there are other inexpensive measures that can be taken, including appropriate lighting and installing doorbell cameras.

While technological advancements have made it easier for people to protect and monitor their homes, it has also been beneficial for burglars and gangs. Previously, some used methods of tagging or marking a house to be robbed at a later time but now a simple drop of a pin location will alert thieves to their target. 

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While the highest percentage of domestic burglaries take place on the east coast, Det. Supt Boland stressed that organised burglary gangs operate on an all-island basis. An Garda Síochána is also working with Europol in relation to the transnational operations of some of these gangs who will move across borders and on to the continent.

“We have used organised crime legislation to tackle our inter-regional burglary gangs to the same extent that we have used them in targeting feuding drug-trafficking gangs across Ireland,” said Det. Supt Boland.

This year, a free app called the An Garda Síochána Property App has been launched and homeowners are encouraged to use it to record their personal items.

If you are a victim of theft or burglary, you can use the in-app reporting tool to share the details of the stolen items with gardaí and hopefully aid in the recovery and return of the items.