This article is from page 20 of the 2009-04-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 20 JPG
GARDAI are warning people in Clare to raise their awareness of the importance of crime prevention, for Community Safety Week, which got underway yesterday (Monday).
Clare Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Joe Downey said in recent weeks, thieves appear to have target- ed work tools in particular.
Dozens of houses across the county
have been broken into recently and gardai fear an escalation in this type of crime over the summer months.
“We do this once a year, to try and reassure members of the public of the benefits of crime prevention.
“We are re-emphasising the impor- tance of crime prevention strategies,” said Sgt Downey.
During the week, Sgt Downey will meet with various neighbourhood watch, community alert and business
alert committees, along with elderly groups.
“It is important to stress and em- phasise the importance of everybody playing a part in preventing their properties from being stolen.
“We are emphasising the impor- tance of marking property,” he said.
“When people notice any suspi- cious activity, they should contact gardai,’ he said.
“We have noticed that tools are be-
ing targeted. There has been a big in- crease in the theft of tools from vans and cars parked in driveways and in isolated locations.
‘There seems to be a ready market for property and people are not ask- ing enough questions when they are being sold these items,” he added.