30/04/2013

Garda Commissioner Calls For Proof Regarding Crime Figures

The Garda Commissioner has spoken out following comments by Garda Representative Association President John Parker regarding official crime figures being massaged.

Commissioner Martin Callinan refuted the allegations and called on GRA President Parker to provide information he may have concerning the matter.

Speaking at a press conference, Mr. Parker said: "You turn up to the scene of a crime and [there is] a half-hearted effort because of the lack of facilities. It's a PR exercise, often where you go out and record the issues as much as you can, however, you move on and there is another crime being reported.

"Former figures used to include attempted burglary in the burglary statistics. However, these days we often see where a window was broken and it's obvious there was entry gained but nothing was taken - a lot of these are put down as criminal damage. Crime categorisation itself is a skill and it's easy to massage statistics."

(CD)

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