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THERE was a slight rise in drugs and offensive weapons offences in 2018 according to the latest statistics from the Kerry Garda Division.
Superintendent Dan Keane gave the figures at last Friday’s meeting of the Joint Policing Committee in Tralee, which saw a 2% increase in that category on 2017.
Detections for drugs for sale or supply dropped by 24%, from 106 in 2017 to 81 last year. However, detections for possession of drugs for personal use rose by 10%, from 470 in 2017 to 518 in 2018.
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Gardaí in Kerry carried out 1,780 searches on the person for drugs last year. Cannabis accounted for 62% of drug offences, amphetamines/cocaine 20%, benzodiazepines 8%, ecstasy 3%, heroin 3%. There were 36 possession of offensive weapon detections in 2018, exactly the same as 2017.
Criminal damage and public order offences also saw a 2% increase year on year. There were 16 arson incidents last year compared to 17 in 2017. In terms of criminal damage incidents there were 359 in 2018, up 13% from 318 in 2017.
Public order offences were down by 10%, from 809 in 2017 to 730 last year. Drunkenness offences rose however, from 544 in 2017 to 622 last year, a rise of 14%.
