Crime On The Rise

Both rural and urban areas are witnessing a big hike in recorded crime.

According to a report published recently in the past 12 months the number of recorded burglaries nationwide has shot up. Crimes have also increased markedly.

According to the latest CSO statistics they found in the third quarter of 2011 there were 6,561 recorded burglary (non-aggravated) offences, an increase of 493 or 8.5% on the same period last year. They also found that in the category of “other thefts and handling stolen property” offences increased by 1,119 (2.7%) to 42,544 in the 12 month period prior to the end of the third quarter of this year.

The report also highlighted the scam into the purchase of mobile phone top-ups using a credit card. It also stated that Eircom PhoneWatch estimated that  €48m worth of goods was taken from households in Ireland in the last 12 months. That equated to an average of €1,870 worth of property per household. 

They also found that unsurprisingly, the most likely time of day for a house burglary was 12pm to 4pm. Thursday was the day homes were most likely to be targeted. Over 20%  of the calls received by the National Crime Victims Helpline last year was related to property crime, most commonly burglary. Being a victim of burglary can leave people feeling violated, vulnerable and afraid, and can destroy their peace of mind and their feeling of safety in their own home visit CrimeVictims Helpline if you just want to talk. The helpline found that callers affected by burglary were also concerned about home security and how to prevent such a crime from happening again.

 Bike thefts have more than doubled since 2008. More that 4,500 bikes were reported as stolen to gardai last year. The situation is so bad that gardai have put a special section on their website advising members of the public on how to avoid having their bike stolen visit www.garda.ie.

Thieves are also targeting another high-price personal device which has even more widespread mass appeal. The number of smartphones being stolen is increasing by the day. Phones are among the items as well as handbags, wallets, sat-navs being targarted by thieves in parked cars in places where few people pass by for long periods, such as graveyards and well known tourist attractions. The methods by which criminals extract their bounty are highly varied.

In one case, a Dublin couple mistakenly left the door of their car unlocked while parked overnight in the driveway, only to discover the next morning the radio and contents of the vehicle had been stolen. They were later told that it was likely thieves that had been masquerading as distributors of charity bags. Almost the whole estate has been kept under close surveillance and almost  every house had a mark or two on the  door of their property. An investigation was launched into this incident.