GARDAÍ HAVE LAUNCHED the fifth winter phase of Operation Thor – an initiative designed to tackle burglaries nationwide.

Analysis from the Garda Analysis Services showed how residential burglaries increase between the hours of 5pm and 10pm during winter and that, on average, 20% of intruders enter through an unsecured door or window.

The most likely entry point for a burglar is a door – 27% of burglaries take place through the front door and 25% through a rear door. Access through a rear window accounts for 28%. Burglars tend to target cash and jewellery when breaking into homes, according to the garda statistics.

According to officers, residential burglaries fell by 50% from winter 2014 (12,057) the winter of 2018 (5,997).

Operation Thor pro-actively targets organised crime gangs and repeat offenders through coordinated crime prevention and enforcement activity based on intelligence and the latest crime trends and patterns to protect communities.

Gardaí said that they will target organised crime gangs and prolific offenders with “enhanced covert surveillance; disrupting the stolen goods market; high visibility checkpoints and roads policing supported by ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) technology to limit the use of the road network by offenders”.

Officers added that crime trend analysis will be used to identify burglary hot-spots and extra high-visibility patrols will then be put into those areas, targeted crime prevention advice will be given to local communities, bail conditions of prolific offenders will be closely monitored, and programmes will be put in place to help reduce re-offending by prolific offenders.

Data from the Garda Analysis Service shows that 75% of burglaries are carried out by 25% of offenders.

Speaking at a National Implementation Meeting this morning Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll, Special Crime Operations highlighted that “considerable success has been achieved in tackling residential burglaries, in the course of Operation Thor.

“However, every burglary results in at least one additional victim. For this reason, the Garda Síochána is determined, through launching the Winter Phase of Operation Thor, to further reduce the number of burglaries that occur throughout the country.”