Gardaí doing their best even though crime exploding due to cuts

In view of increasing serious crime, there is an urgent need for the Government to deal with crime prevention.

There is little point in successive justice ministers offering loud commitments to reduce the spiralling crime rate when they accede to the continuing erosion of garda manpower levels.

With retirement comprehensively outstripping recruitment and closure of rural garda stations, government policy is an open invitation for criminals to move in and rob, plunder and sadly murder.

The general public has a right to feel safe in their homes; our elderly need the protection and reassurance that a more obvious garda presence can give them.

This used to be a country where women and children, the old, the weak and vulnerable went wherever they wished by day and night. Now they are afraid to venture into the streets at any time — what has happened?

One reason must be the collapse of authority within the family. Some parents do not bother to find out what their youngsters are up to and feel no shame when these children turn to violent crime and violence.

Our most urgent concern must be how to curb crime and how to protect our old folk. In passing, my thanks in this regard to that outstanding community association, Muintir na Tíre for their help and assistance in the provision of security measures. May that helping hand continue ad multos annos.

It shouldn’t be left to them however. The coalition government must move with speed to change and restore garda manpower to a more acceptable level with gardaí seen patrolling our streets day and night.

The gardaí, our guardians of the peace, come in for criticism — a lot of it unjustified — over soaring crime rates, particularly public order offences. They are in the front line of alcohol and drug-fuelled thuggery every night of the week.

And as they struggle to contain street fights, drug use and reckless motorists, they are often criticised for not doing enough to tackle “serious crime” .The gardaí are doing a great job of work, sometimes in difficult circumstances, yet their basic renumeration is a mere pittance — which is a national disgrace.

Until the powers-that-be take positive action to not alone maintain the level of gardaí but to significantly increase it and their renumeration and seriously tackle prevention, there will be no downward trend in the crime rate.

Cllr Noel Collins

“St Jude’s”

Midleton

Co Cork