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New initiative to combat D15 crime

Blanchardstown gardaí are to launch a major anti-crime campaign in the area following an increase in the number of thefts from cars and homes in recent months.

According to Supt. John Harnett, “the aim of the campaign is to highlight the need to be vigilant about crime and particularly theft in the area. There has been an increase in the number of burglaries from cars and we have to get the message home to people not to leave goods visible in vehicles.”

One of the downsides in the increasing popularity in satellite navigation (sat nav) systems for cars is the corresponding rise in theft of these devices. “In the United States, the theft of sat navs has been going through the roof and that trend is beginning to show here as well,” says Supt. Harnett.

Car owners are being advised not to leave these on display or indeed not to leave the mounting brackets visible when they leave the car. “We would actually advise owners of sat navs to clean the window each time they remove the bracket because thieves are looking out for the mark left behind on the windscreen by the sucker on the bracket,” said the superintendent.

The huge rise in the market for older cars, most of which have very basic old style stereo systems has also lead to a new demand for stolen modern car CD systems.

The increased use of technology and electronic security systems has made it virtually impossible to steal a modern car by traditional methods. This in turn has lead to an increase in house break-ins with thieves looking for the keys of the modern car parked in the driveway. Supt. Harnett advises all householders not to leave their keys lying around at home, to ensure that their home security is good and not to leave garden implements and tools such as spades or hammers lying around as these could be used to assist in home break-ins.

As part of the campaign gardaí will be mounting display stands in local shopping centres next week where members of the public can discuss these issues and get advice.

According to Sergeant Kevin Jennings of the local Community Garda section, “we will also be visiting a number of local schools at closing time to assist with traffic management and to give advice to parents about parking near the schools and the problems this is causing for local ‘lollipop ladies’ and indeed for the children.”

A Neighbourhood Watch meeting for residents of Edgewood Lawn and Brookhaven is being organised in the Corduff Resource Centre on Thursday evening 24th April. “Also on that evening at 6 p.m. we will be organising a bicycle marking session for young people at the green in Littlepace Gallops where young people can have security codes etched onto their bikes,” said Sgt. Jennings.

Local gardaí are also planning an initiative to clamp down on underage drinking in the area. “Parents should be aware where their children are and what they are up to. Very often when we bring young people into the station their parents are shocked at finding that their kids have been drinking. As part of this campaign we will be targeting local known drinking spots,” said Supt Harnett.

The new initiative marks a further ramping up of proposals by local gardaí to work more closely with local residents and community groups in combating crime in the area. The superintendent paid tribute to the work carried out to date locally by the Safer Blanchardstown Forum which is headed up by a local man, Philip Jennings. “The forum has being doing great work in conjunction with Inspector Peter Hughes and Sergeant Ray Blake, particularly in the Parslickstown and Corduff areas where they have had several very productive meetings,” he said.

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