Policing is nothing but a bad joke in our community

Isn't it great that the full resources of the Garda Síochána can be deployed when it comes to arresting a Socialist Party TD? No expense was spared this week with six gardaí dispatched in a dawn raid to bring Paul Murphy in for questioning in relation to the now infamous anti-water charges protest in Jobstown last November.
 

You’d imagine they could have saved a few bob in overtime and petrol money if they’d given him a call and asked him to attend the Garda station voluntarily.

I couldn’t help but feel a little bit short-changed by the incident, not least because gardaí are as rare as hens’ teeth in my community. You see, my town is experiencing something of a crimewave, with reports of burglaries or attempted break-ins on a weekly basis at least. We live in fear of being targeted next and are in a state of heightened vigilance and near paranoia.

Burglars are targeting cars and homes in my area. PICTURE POSED

CCTVs, once the exclusive preserve of wealthy residents in gated communities, have now become the norm in my estate. Unfamiliar cars and passing strangers are viewed with increased suspicion and we have all become incessant curtain-twitchers. Faulty alarms are no longer ignored as an irritating nuisance. In fact, the companies that service them are doing a roaring trade, as are local locksmiths.

Since our town lost its Garda station as a result of cutbacks, there has been an anecdotal increase in local crime. The only time you seem to see a patrol car in the area is when the guards are responding to an incident. There is zero Garda visibility most of the time; preventive policing is non-existent.

The one exception has been the increased presence of a speed camera van in the village, even though accidents at this particular location are rare. This shooting fish in a barrel approach to road safety must have brought in a fair bit of spare change. 

Perhaps they could reinvest some of this revenue in new squad cars for our division. Our nearest Garda station is in a neighbouring town five kilometres away. There, a lack of available patrol cars is impeding gardaí’s ability to effectively respond to reports of crime. One local Garda told me that he sometimes had to respond to incidents on foot as they are not permitted to use their own cars while on official duty.

I suspect that those behind the recent spate of break-ins in my town are fully aware of the policing vacuum and are capitalising on it. The opportunistic criminals seem particularly intent on stealing cars, ‘fishing’ for keys through letterboxes in the homes they don’t ransack. CCTV footage shows the brazen thugs all but posing for the cameras.

In the absence of proper policing, our community has had to come together with its own crime prevention initiatives. We now use social media effectively to alert our neighbours of any suspicious activity and we look out for each other’s properties.

With a general election approaching, candidates can expect to get it in the ear if they don’t commit to the reopening of our local Garda station. Personally, I can’t wait for them to come knocking.