Drugs trade 'never waned', bucking Covid crime trends
Illegal drugs discovered earlier this month when a truck and low-loader trailer, arriving into Ireland from mainland Europe, was stopped and searched by Revenue officers. File photo: Revenue
The Garda Commissioner has said the illegal drug trade has “never waned” during the pandemic, bucking overall crime trends which show sustained downward or stabilised rates of offending.
Drew Harris said he was aware of reports of assaults and anti-social behaviour around Dublin city centre, but said “comprehensive plans” were in place to deal with the continuing easing of restrictions on socialisation.
He said “unprovoked attacks” on gardaí continued during the month of July, including one incident in Tallaght, west Dublin, where shots were fired at unarmed gardaí on routine patrol.
In his July report, submitted to the Policing Authority, the commissioner said there was “still much to be studied and learned” in relation to impact of Covid-19 on criminal behaviour.
“The national overview of crime trends recently indicated sustained downward and stabilised rates across a range of offences, such as criminal damage, public order and sexual offences,” he said.
“However, it is clear that the illegal drug trade never waned, despite widespread international restrictions.”
He said that along with policing pandemic restrictions, the organisation established dedicated drug units in every garda division.
Many of these units, traditionally operating at district level, were decimated as a result of the public service recruitment ban caused by the financial crash.
Commissioner Harris said that, as of May 31, 2021, there were 321 gardaí assigned full time to divisional drug units across every garda division nationwide.
He said, to compliment this, the force’s national anti-drug strategy, Operation Tara, commenced on July 1, with a view to “protecting communities from the scourge of illegal drugs and in particular, street-level dealing”.
While the report highlights significant decreases in property crimes and burglaries, it flags increases this year in reports of assaults and public order offences, which, it said, are expected to continue.
Commissioner Harris said: “Following the relaxation of public health restrictions, we are aware of the issues surrounding reported assaults and incidents of anti-social behaviour, as Dublin City Centre experiences increased socialisation.”
He said comprehensive policing plans were in place, with particular emphasis on weekend and night time.
“Regrettably, once again this month, members of An Garda Síochána were subject to unprovoked attacks and in one instance, shots were fired at unarmed Gardaí while on routine patrol in Dublin," he said. "This, and other recent attacks on Gardaí nationwide, further emphasise the inherent risks involved in modern policing.
"My message is very clear: Our members will never be deterred by those intent on displaying violence towards them and they have my full and constant support.”
He said hate crime was “significantly under-reported” in Ireland and hoped a new non-emergency online hate crime reporting mechanism, which can be accessed via www.garda.ie, will help address this.
Updating the Garda response to the Mother and Baby Homes report, detailed last month in the , the report said that of the 67 cases received, 42 remained open and subject to further “engagement and investigation where warranted”, with 25 cases closed.
