Over 18% Drop In Burglaries - CSO

Operation Thor has seen a "dramatic reduction" in the number of burglaries in the 12 months to 31 March, according to the latest figures by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The Recorded Crime Statistics, published on Wednesday, show an 18.4% drop in burglaries across the year.

Welcoming the figures, and praising the success of the Garda operation, Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, Frances Fitzgerald said: "The new CSO figures also show that in the first three months of 2016 there were 36.47% less burglaries than in the first three months of 2015. There have been huge achievements made by the Gardaí under Operation Thor, including the provision of increased protection for householders throughout the country."

The decrease in burglary is accompanied by reductions in other property crimes with the CSO figures showing decreases of 7% for theft and 6.7% for robbery.

The Tánaiste underlined the Government's commitment to supporting the Garda crackdown on criminals.

"I want to assure people that there will be no let-up in the pressure which the Gardaí are bringing to bear on the organised gangs engaged in burglary. We are determined to protect communities in rural and urban areas who have been the victims of mobile criminal gangs," Minister Fitzgerald said.

However, the Minister did voice concern about some other crime trends detailed in the CSO release, including an increase of 8.2% in sexual offences, and 6.9% in assault offences. She noted the steps being taken to give effect to the EU Victims Directive, which came into effect from 16 November 2015, including the Garda Victims Services Office which have been established across the country and will inform victims as their case progresses through the justice system. Confronting these offences, and other types of offending, will be aided by the Garda recruitment programme which is underway, and the Government's intention to increase the overall number of Gardaí to 15,000. 

(MH/CD)