Two of the most constantly-vandalised buildings in Mullingar, the local Educate Together School at Rathgowan, Mullingar and the nearby Presbyterian Church, at Raithín, came under attack again in recent days, with damage caused to both buildings during the mid-term school break. Ironically, just a week or so earlier, the Community Alert/Neighbourhood Watch meeting was held in the Presbyterian Church, Raithín, and was attended by the Garda Chief Superintendent, two other Superintendents and Gardai.
Ironically also, the message coming across at the meeting in the church was that the Gardai do not want to “panic the public” by sending out texts about crime, and were not particularly keen to provide local areas with information about crimes which had just taken place there. People attending the meeting took issue with this, and wanted to be informed “if my next door neighbour has been burgled” – as one man described it.
During the March meeting of Westmeath IFA in Bloomfield House Hotel, PRO for the IFA, Paddy Donnelly warned that there will be a “tragic accident” if the current levels of crime continue, because law-abiding people are “on tenterhooks about stuff being lifted from their yards. The perpetrators don’t seem to be getting caught and even when they are, this isn’t enough and they do it again,” he said.
Mr. Donnelly warned that “we’re close to people taking the law into their own hands, because those who are hit can only take so much, and it seems to be happening on a regular basis.”.
Mullingar residents who live not far from the Presbyterian Church and from Educate Together School said that more damage was done there in recent days. Last Monday and Saturday there were security call-outs to the Presbyterian Church, and about five or six windows were damaged and there were pock marks from the stones thrown at them. A bigger number of windows in the school were broken, Topic was informed, and the Gardai were seen there doing a report on what had happened.
Another resident told Topic how the same vandals were targeting cars moving through the area, and two ladies in a car were shocked when the windows were smashed, with children in the car.
“Three houses were vandalised in another woman’s estate, so all that is going on, and we want to know about it, to take precautions,” Westmeath Topic was told.
POINTS FROM AGM
While Crime Prevention Officer, Sgt. John Connolly, told the meeting in the Presbyterian Church that the CSO figures for the first nine months of 2015 showed burglaries were down by a third, and criminal damage was also down, and urged people to fully use Neighbourhood Watch and Crime Alert, these statistics did not seem to impress local people, nor does it impact on rural dwellers or others who have been the victims of robberies from their farms or businesses, or who know of homes being robbed or vandalised. They want to be alerted as soon as possible when crimes occur in their areas
According to the Gardai, they want to “strike a balance” between ensuring people have enough information to keep themselves and their possessions safe, and not causing the public to panic.
Sgt Blaithín Moran told the meeting it was important they the Gardai and community were in regular communication, but a decision had to be made whether or not to send out a text. Sometimes after a week or so, they might find it relevant to send out.
One man remarked that he had not heard of a number of thefts in his area until well after they took place. “I didn’t know until 3 or 4 days later, and I think communities should know within a day or so, to give people a chance to lock up and safeguard sheds,” he said.
He said often, the Community Alert Group don’t know an incident had taken place, and he didn’t know his next-door neighbour was burgled until several days later.
“I think the onus is on the Gardai to tell our secretary, and give us the option, he felt the Gardai needed to be more proactive.
Chief Supt. Lorraine Wheatley said often burgled people did not want others to know, and she repeated Sgt. Moran’s statement about striking a balance to avoid sending “the community into a panic.” She advised local people to talk to their Liaison Garda.
Another local resident said crime incidents needed to be highlighted to make people aware criminals were operating in their area. “There was a crime in our estate yesterday, and the Gardai were there within minutes, but people told me they heard nothing about it.”
Supt. Pat Murray, Athlone said they liked to have accurate information on texts, to help solve a crime, otherwise it was closing the gate when the horse has bolted. “Our primary objective is to catch someone in the immediate aftermath of a crime,” he said.
Supt Alan Murray said the Gardai are training more Gardai for the Text Alert Scheme and wanted to advance it.
FARMER FRUSTRATION
The point which emerged at the IFA meeting was that farmers are very frustrated by what is happening, and Mr. Donnelly warned that people buying stuff from anyone should ensure it was legitimate, and not stolen.
Former Garda, Colin Connolly, now launching IFA Theft Stop in Westmeath, attended both the IFA meeting and Community Alert meeting, and explained how their scheme, branding property with an unique serial number could help to prevent rural crime -with participants putting up notices at their entrances, indicating their property was secured.
