This article is from page 4 of the 2013-04-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
NEIGHBOURHOODS and communities around Clare are being encouraged to report any suspicious activity in thei r areas in the bid to beat the burglars.
There has been a recent spi ke in burglaries in rural and urban parts of the county and Gardaí says scheme such as Neighbourhood Watch and Community Alert play an important role in helping to deter crime.
Supt Derek Smart of Ennis Garda Station said, “Anybody that sees anthing suspicious that they feel isn’t right, pick up the phone straight away and give us a call. No matter how trivial they think it is, let us look at it. Let us now and that can all be done in confidence.”
Supt Smar t said plans to roll out a community alert text system in Clare are cur rently being reviewed. “There is an issue there with ensuring that the cor rect information goes out on that system. It’s actually being reviewed on a trial basis in parts of the country. Any system like that, we’d be eager to adopt.”
Cll r Michael Guilfoyle (Ind) is the area co-ordinator for the Turnpike Neighbourhood Watch Scheme that has been in operation for 22 years. He said the scheme has been effective in curbing crime and giving residents greater security.
He added, “I would encourage all communities, given all the recent cutbacks there has been to Garda resources, to set up neighbourhood watch schemes. It gives people in an area more security and confidence that their homes are protected.”
Ray Cummins, Chai rman of the Glassan Residents Association, said the area has been relatively unaffected by break-ins. However he said that the resident’s committee has discussed setting up a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme.
He said, “The one area, from a security and safety point of view that people are concerned about, is the inability to get proper street light- ing put in place. We are waiting for Ennis Town Council to take over the estate but that hasn’t happened yet.”
Meanwhile, three people arrested by Gardaí as part of an ongoing investigation into a series of aggravated burglaries in West Clare were released without charge last week.
The arrests of two men and one woman came following Gardaí investigations into recent aggravated burglaries targeting elderly people with incidents repor ted in Kilmihil, Moyasta, Kilmaley, and Inagh.
The suspects – all in thei r 20s were questioned by Gardaí at Ennis and Kil rush stations before being released without charge.