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A rural liaison initiative has been set up in Co Wicklow.
The trial programme aims to develop a personal link between rural communities and groups who wish to assist gardaí in tackling rural crime.
It also provides a contact for community groups who want to develop links with their local gardaí.
“Crime is simple, criminals are simple and we’ll catch them if we simply work together,” Detective Sergeant Barry Turner, who is leading the initiative, told the launch at a Wicklow IFA county executive meeting.
Process
Three gardaí are involved in the initiative, one for each of the three Garda districts within Wicklow.
Community groups are being given contact details for the three gardaí and are encouraged to report crimes or suspicious behaviour to them.
“There is a misconception that gardaí know everything that’s going on. We don’t. We only know what is reported,” Det Sgt Turner said.
“We are geared by statistics. If a thing is not reported, we don’t know it’s going on.”
He explained that the initiative will work like a log system, where everything reported is kept on record and it may, or may not, help to solve a crime.
The issues important in rural communities are not issues in urban communities
It is estimated that 45% of rural crime is not reported.
Det Sgt Turner admitted that this is primarily due to issues dealing with the police.
“The issues important in rural communities are not issues in urban communities,” he said.
“This will work if we engage with it, but three phonecalls a month is not enough.”
New technology has been rolled out in the east of the country since the start of January.
Now when you ring an emergency number you get through to a call centre in Dublin and you are put in direct contact with a mobile unit.
Emergency calls
Over half of emergency calls now are from mobile phones, which allow An Garda Síochána to access your exact GPS co-ordinates.
This means there is no time wasted giving directions in order for the emergency services to get to you.
There are four dispatch units roaming Wicklow now ready to respond to emergency calls.
“The old style of policing is gone where everyone knows the local Garda. Technology is moving on,” Detective Superintendent Martin Harrington said.
“We want to get those calls that there is someone out and about or something wrong. The afternoon and early evening is when you really need to be alert.”
Opportunistic
Almost 90% of burglaries are opportunistic, criminals travelling around looking for an empty house.
So while reporting an unusual registration plate in an area may seem unnecessary, farmers at the meeting were encouraged to report it anyway and let the gardaí decide if it is relevant information.
“Intelligence is our primary method of catching criminals and that is fed in by witnesses. It is the diamond in the sand that solves a lot of stuff,” Garda Vivian Rock said.
In an emergency, the advice is to call 999.
If you want to report suspicious activity in a specific rural area in Wicklow, the advice is to report it to one of the three gardaí involved in the initiative either by email or by phone.
Bray district
This incorporates Bray, Greystones, Enniskerry and Newtownmountkennedy. The rural liaison Garda for this district is John Whelan in Newtownmountkennedy Garda station. Call: 01-281 9222. Email: john.h.whelan@garda.ie.
Wicklow district
This covers Wicklow town, Roundwood Ashford, Rathdrum, Arklow, Avoca and Aughrim. The rurallLiaison Garda for this district is Shane Barker in Rathdrum Garda station. Call: 0404-46206. Email: shane.p.barker@garda.ie.
Baltinglass district
This area covers Blessington, Dunlavin, Hollywood, Donard, The Glen of Imaal, Baltinglass, Rathdangan, Kiltegan, Tinahealy, Shillelagh and Carnew. The rural liaison Garda for this district is Adrian Nevin in Baltinglass Garda station. Call: 059-648 2610. Email: aidreen.p.nevin@garda.ie.
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