Blanchardstown crime figures soar

Garda numbers in Blanchardstown Garda Station have come under attack from Fine Gael following the publication of the latest figures on criminal activity in Dublin.

The new figures indicate that the catchment areas of four garda station account for almost 90% of the growth in crimes in the Dublin since 2000.

Between them, Blanchardstown, Coolock, Tallaght and Santry accounted for 87% of the growth in headline crimes carried out between 2000 and 2007. Of the four stations Blanchardstown showed the highest level of increase with the number of serious crimes rising by 112% in that period. During the same period, Coolock station recorded an increase of 65% with crime levels growing by 45% in both Tallaght and Santry.

Interestingly, while the number of gardaí allocated to the Dublin area has been increased by 18%, less than 30% of these additional gardaí have been deployed in these four stations.

These figures were obtained by Fine Gael as a result as a result of a series of parliamentary questions asked in the Dáil. According to a party spokesperson even though the majority of crimes were committed in the four districts, detection rates were found to be low with over 80% of crimes remaining unsolved.

The party has called for a re-evaluation of policing methods in Dublin following the release of the latest figures, claiming that the allocation of manpower in the capital is out of step with crime trends.

According to deputy party leader, Richard Bruton, “we now need a more informed debate about the effectiveness of garda deployment and policing methods in our city. In the past seven years almost 650 extra gardaí have been deployed in Dublin. This was an 18 per cent increase in manpower, more than twice the rate of increase of population. However, crime levels and crime rates still increased.

“There is no doubt that the age profile of neighbourhoods has a huge bearing on the probability of high crime rates. Rapidly growing outer suburbs present the gardaí with a very significant challenge but we should be able to do much better,” he said.

 

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