Armed Garda response to surge in crime

High-visibility armed checkpoints are among a series of Garda initiatives being put in place throughout Meath aimed at beating rising crime. As the recession deepens, Gardai have warned of an upsurge in crime locally. Gardai in Meath are on high alert as the incident of armed robberies and burglaries of homes, in particular, are on the increase. The recent rise in robberies and break-ins at homes and business premises has been met with a tightly co-ordinated response within the Meath Garda Division. The county has seen an increase in attacks on homes and businesses during the past year and Inspector Kieran McEneaney of divisional headquarters in Navan has warned that crime levels are likely to increase as the economic recession continues. However, he said the rising crime rates have been met with a heightened response, including high-visibility armed Garda checkpoints throughout the county. 'We are not going to stand by and let crime escalate. We are being proactive and are responding to the increase in criminal activity,' he said. Inspector McEneaney said this recent proactive policing in the community has been successful. 'These armed checkpoints are multi-purpose and one of the effects is to disrupt criminals in their planning of their activities,' he said. 'This is not a quick fix and it will be ongoing to target these criminals.' 'In my experience, crime always increases during a recession and we are determined to get out there, fight it and stop it in its tracks,' he said. Inspector McEneaney said the public also had a role to play in crime prevention and he urged everyone to take their own steps in the fight against crime. 'Householders have a role to play. We all should have working alarms installed and it is important to ensure all doors, and particularly patio doors, are locked,' he added. He warned businesses to set up proper closed circuit television (CCTV) systems and to ensure there are proper alarm monitoring systems in place. People going to night safes or bringing large sums of money to the banks should stagger their movements and make sure safety measures are in place. 'Make sure cars are locked as what attracts criminals are the visible signs - a sat nav system on the dashboard, a handbag on the front seat or a laptop on full view. When they see these, the window is smashed in, your car is damaged and you"ve lost your property,' he said. Deputy Damien English said people have a right to be safe in their homes and on their streets as he also warned crime figures in Meath were predicted to increase during the economic downturn. 'The recent crime figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that the incidents of robbery and burglary in the county have increased in recent months and this simply backs up the legitimate fear that people are expressing,' he said. He said he was heartened by the additional frontline efforts that the Gardaí are deploying in Meath. 'Visibility is a major and effective tool in preventing crime. I am calling on the Government to ensure that the proper and necessary resources and equipment needed by Gardaí are maintained as a necessity. Garda visibility on our streets could also be boosted by increasing the numbers of civilian administrators within An Garda Siochana - thereby releasing the highly-qualified Garda personnel onto the beat. We need extra capacity to free up Gardaí from administrative duties to allow them tackle crime,' he said. Deputy English said that, in Meath, where the population now stands at over 160,000, there has not been a similar increase in the number of Gardaí for the area. 'Navan has as many Garda stationed in the town now as in the 1980s, while the population has tripled,' he said. Cllr Tommy Reilly also welcomed the Garda crime-fighting initiative and said it was imperative to respond to the recent increase in crime throughout the county. 'I welcome these checkpoints as they have a great role to play in cutting out armed robberies and burglaries,' he said. Cllr Reilly also expressed concern at the increase in drug crime in the area.