Concerns about rural crime are at an all-time high, with some media reports suggesting that there is an epidemic of homes and businesses being targeted for robberies.
There is no doubt that people in many rural areas no longer feel safe in their homes and that this is to be abhorred. Rural Ireland, for the vast part of the 20th century, was a place of exceptionally low crime rates, where people felt comfortable leaving their door off the latch.
Sadly, this sense of safety seems to have been lost, replaced in some cases, according to newspaper reports, by people feeling forced to sleep with a shotgun under their bed. But while the fear of crime should not be underestimated or discounted, just how bad is the situation? Is there really a crimewave sweeping the parishes and townlands of the country?
Despite anecdotal evidence — some of it genuinely shocking — the official statistics suggest that there is not. The most recent crime figures showed an 8 per cent rise in burglaries, which is not a huge increase. Furthermore, some of this rise could be due to a tightening up of procedures after last year’s Garda Inspectorate’s report showed serious failures with the classification and recording of incidents.
Even if the figures suggest that the extent of the crisis is being overstated, it is clear that there are certain parts of the country where people feel particularly vulnerable. That 1,500 people attended a recent public meeting on the issue in Co Tipperary is evidence of this.
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It appears to be the midland areas, adjacent to the country’s motorway network, that are enduring the greatest problems. Farms and businesses that stock or supply agricultural equipment seem to be a particular target for criminal gangs, which can then use the motorways to quickly make good their escape before the gardai can react.
That would suggest, for all the attention it has received, that the closure of rural garda stations is not a major factor in the recent rise in such targeted burglaries. There is no doubt a pyschological comfort in having a garda station nearby. It is a stretch, however, to claim that having a station open for three or four hours a day — as had been the case before the closures — in a thinly populated area would be a deterrent to these gangs who come into the area to commit crime, generally late at night.
So how can such crimes, which are dramatically impacting on the quality of life of often terrified citizens, be tackled? Given the mobility of the criminals, there seems to be strong merit in the suggestion of specialist garda units, operating along the motorway network, with the resources and the flexibility to react quickly.
Bail laws are always brought up during debates on crime. But unless we are looking to replicate the US system of justice, this is a more complex issue to address than some of the simplistic commentary. However, at the very least, the recent legislation introducing consecutive sentences for those convicted of multiple offences should be applied.
Other practical measures can help. The wider use of CCTV would certainly act as a deterrent. Many communities have already moved to introduce such systems. Some financial assistance from the state would help in this regard and in relation to other innovations such as a text alert system.
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The monitoring of websites used for selling goods may also throw up leads for the gardai. Certainly, the message needs to go out loud and clear that such crime does not pay, and it is only through successful prosecutions that this message will hit home.
The least the citizens of this republic deserve is the ability to sleep soundly in their beds without feeling a sense of fear and terror. Whatever action is needed to ensure that this is the case must be taken.