Tipp domestic abuse incidents up 6.7%
Domestic abuse crime in Tipperary has increased by 6.7% this year.
Some 611 domestic abuse incidents were recorded in the year to date. Most of these (62%) related to domestic disputes; the remainder involved assaults, breaches of barring or protetection orders, criminal damage and public disorder.
Most - 58% - of these incidents involved a male perpetrator and female injured party; 10% related to males only. Female perpetrators and male injured parties accounted for 10% of the total. Four percent of incidents involved a female offending against another female.
Presenting the statistics at last week's meeting of Tipperary Joint Policing Committee, Chief Superintendent Derek Smart said children were involved in a large volume of these situations. But he added that much of the increased numbers could be put down to the fact that people are being supported to report domestic abuse in confidence, which is to be welcomed.
"People have the mechanisms with which to report it," Chief Supt Smart told the meeting. "To me, it's very positive that people are reporting it."
NENAGH ROBBERY
The recent incident reported at Centra in Nenagh was one of four robberies recorded in the Tipperary division this year. Chief Supt Smart commented that the garda investigation into this incident is progressing and he expected that it would result in a satisfactory conclusion.
Property crime in general, including burglaries and thefts, was down by 10% across the division. The Nenagh Garda District (which includes Roscrea) saw a decrease in most crime categories in the year to date, despite increases in other parts of Tipperary.
Assaults, for example, decreased by 15% (52 to 44 incidents) in Nenagh this year, but increased by 28% in Thurles, 37% in Clonmel and 36% in Tipperary town. Crimes against the person, including the likes of harrassment and threats, were down 19% (72 to 58 incidents) in the Nenagh district but up 27% in Thurles, 21% in Clonmel and 29% in Tipperary town.
Tragically, there have been seven road traffic fatalities in Tipperary this year, an increase on the four recorded in 2020.
€450,000 DRUGS SEIZURES
Cases of possession of controlled drugs for personal use increased across Tipperary by 13% (383 to 434). However, the number of cases of drugs for sale or supply decreased by 20% (109 to 87). Nenagh had the third highest number of possession incidents (53) in the county, behind Clonmel (249) and Thurles (75), and the second highest number of sale or supply incidents (19), behind Clonmel (36).
Overall searches within the division were up by 21%. Chief Supt Smart informed the meeting that a total of €450,000 worth of illegal drugs have been seized by gardaí in Tipperary this year.
Deputy Martin Browne expressed concern over seizures of heroin and crack cocaine in the Clonmel area. He believed these drugs were taking hold across the county and he joined the Chief Super in appealing to people to contact the gardaí in confidence if they have suspicions about drug activity.
'LOAN SHARKS'
Cllr Noel Coonan asked if some categories of crime would increase in tandem with the re-emergence of society from pandemic restrictions. He was particularly concerned about a problem with "loan sharks" that had been brought to his attention in the Roscrea-Templemore area. Cllr Coonan said this "scourge" is becoming a serious problem and having a major impact on less-well-off families involved.
Chief Supt Smart said he was not aware of the issue locally but did have experience of dealing with "loan sharks" in Limerick; he encouraged anyone in difficulty to talk to the gardaí. He agreed that Covid-19 had impacted on most forms of crime. Incidents such as thefts from shops increased with the lifting of restrictions but more and more shopkepers are helping themselves by installing CCTV and other security measures.
SPEEDING PROBLEM
The Chief Super regretted that many motorists in Tipperary are not adhering to messages on driving while holding a mobile phone, the number of incidents of which increased by 32% (514 to 677). Similarly, incidents of motorists detected speeding increased by 41% (2,250 to 3,170), and these were all garda detections, as opposed to speed camera vans.
The number of driving while intoxicated offences, however, decreased by 15% from 236 to 200. Some 1,323 garda checkpoints were conducted in the division this year, up 15% on the same period in 2020.
Cllr Ger Darcy said he has received a huge amount of representations over motorists speeding outside schools and rural shops. Traffic volumes have increased enormously over the last six months and people are extremely worried, he said.
Cllr Hughie McGrath spoke of the popularity of e-scooters in Nenagh and of how pedestrians on footpaths have been put at risk in some cases. He had brought the matter to garda and county council attention. Cllr Coonan mentioned a similar issue in Roscrea.
Chief Supt Smart said there is national policy forthcoming on e-scooters but that gardaí can in the meantime take action against dangerous operators under endangerment legislation.