THE spate of creeper
burglaries in Inishowen and throughout Donegal has
reached the desk of the Justice Minister Dermot
Ahern.
Minister Ahern said local Garda chiefs were
attempting to tackle the spiralling number of
burglaries, robberies and tiger kidnappings and
additional patrols had been deployed. "Significant"
numbers of additional Garda personnel have been
attached to the Donegal Garda Division recently
while a rural community policing initiative has been
set up in Inishowen.
Donegal Fine Gael T.D., Deputy Dinny McGinley was
informed by the Justice Minister that senior Gardaí
in Inishowen and elsewhere were holding twice
monthly meetings with their Northern counterparts to
identify crime trends and suspects.
"Border superintendents including from County
Donegal, attend bi-monthly crime
meetings, and, at local level, cross-border crime
meetings are held monthly, with regular contact
taking place regarding individual incidents and
criminal activity generally," said Deputy McGinley.
The south west deputy was also informed that a
Divisional Crime Manager had been
appointed to Donegal to assist in the monitoring and
analysis of crime trends and to prepare specific
responses.
The Donegal Garda Division, as of January 31, 2009,
had 485 officers.
"This follows the allocation of significant numbers
of additional personnel to the Donegal Garda
Division recently, including the establishment of a
rural community policing
initiative for Inishowen," said Deputy McGinley.
"The situation will be kept under review and the
needs of the county will be fully considered by the
Commissioner within the overall context of the needs
of Garda stations throughout the country," he added. |
