Call for better training for gardaí to tackle car theft rise instead of 'simply standing down'

Hundreds of cars are being stolen from “hard-working families” by criminals intent on causing havoc, he said, and rank and file gardaí need more training to tackle them. Picture: Colin Keegan /Collins Photos

A detective garda has called for improved training for the rank-and-file to tackle car thefts following a rise in such crimes. 

It comes as a stinger operation intercepted an allegedly stolen vehicle in an area of Dublin where 460 cars have reportedly been stolen this year.

A video shows a stinger — a spiked device put on a road to puncture a car’s tyres — being used to stop the car following a high-speed chase in Finglas early on Wednesday morning.

Escalating car thefts have sparked a call from Detective Garda Mark Ferris, Garda Representative Association representative for the Dublin Metropolitan Region West, for improved garda training to confront “car-borne urban criminals”.  

Hundreds of cars are being stolen from “hard-working families” by criminals intent on causing havoc, he said, and rank-and-file gardaí need more training to tackle them.

“The currently trending crime of car theft in the DMR West is now a daily feature of the area with over 460 cars being stolen this year to date,” Det. Gda Ferris said.

“These vehicles are being taken unlawfully from hard-working families in West Dublin by criminals who are intent on causing havoc on the road network across the capital.

“A video is circulating and in it we see trained gardaí successfully deploying a vehicle-stopping device resulting in the arrest of repeat offenders following a high-speed chase around Dublin west in the early hours of [Wednesday] morning.

“The GRA continue to advocate for management to train up rank-and-file gardaí so they can carry out their necessary functions and give them the skillset and confidence to confront these car-borne urban criminals rather than simply standing down on ubiquitous health and safety grounds,” he said.

Car thefts have been increasing with growing fears for public safety as allegedly stolen vehicles are being driven recklessly.

It comes as figures from the Cork City Joint Policing Committee found that car theft was at a seven-year high. Japanese and Asian car imports have been specifically targeted in Cork because they are not fitted with an immobiliser, gardaí have warned.

An immobiliser is an anti-theft device that will only allow your car to start if it receives the correct code from the car key.

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May saw the most reported car thefts in a single month since October 2015. Cork city saw a 164% increase in reported car thefts — from 59 to 156 — between January and May 2022 compared to the same period last year.

Gardaí have warned of rising car thefts nationally this year, with a particularly noticeable increase in thefts of second-hand imported vehicles.

There were 1,851 records of car theft or the taking of a vehicle in the first three months of this year, according to preliminary Central Statistic Office figures. In 2022, more than 4,000 vehicles were reported stolen — a 52% increase on 2021 and a 17% increase on 2019.