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THE latest crime figures from the Kerry Garda Division show that burglaries were down in the first quarter of 2018 compared to same period last year, but vehicle thefts were up considerably.
The statistics were revealed at the Joint Policing Committee meeting at Kerry County Council on Friday morning by Chief Supt Tom Myers.
He said they are in close contact with garda colleagues in Dublin, Cork and Limerick, about travelling criminals who come down in high speed cars and carry out a series of burglaries in the one area.
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Burglaries are down from 74 in January-March 2017 to 66 in the first quarter of this year, a drop of 11%. Chief Supt Myers said he had more recent figures which have burglaries down 27%, but more would be revealed at the next JPC meeting.
Aggravated burglaries were down from four to one in the same period. He also said they have a 36% detection rate with burglaries.
However, there was a big increase in thefts of vehicles, with 14 vehicles taken without authorisation in Q1 2018 compared to six in the same period last year, a jump of 133%.
There was also a rise in thefts from vehicles, from 20 in Q1 of 2017 to 26 in the first three months of 2018, a rise of 30%.
Chief Supt Myers sounded a warning about this, especially with the long evenings here. He stressed that vehicle owners should not leave any valuables on view as it invites criminals to smash windows and take their possessions.
He said the gardaí are aware of particular hotspots where these thefts occur and they will be carrying out inspections in these areas in the coming months.
There was a decrease in ‘Thefts from Shops’, down from 117 in Q1 2017 to 91 in Jan-Mar 2018, a fall of 22%. However, ‘Theft of Other Property’ was up significantly from 41 in Q1 2017 to 68 in Jan-Mar 2018.
With regard to this, Chief Supt Myers encouraged people to put markings on tools when purchasing them. That way, if gardaí recover stolen goods it makes it easier to reunite them with the owners.
