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A garda station in rural Offaly. Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland

Concerns that burglary gangs are 'targeting areas they know have little to no Garda cover'

The assaults on two older men in the last week have brought the topic of rural crime into sharp focus.

CRIMINAL GANGS MAY be exploiting deficits in the rural policing system to target locations which have little Garda coverage, The Journal has learned.

The assaults on two older men in different parts of the country over the past week have brought the topic of rural crime into sharp focus. 

Tom Niland (73) remains in a critical condition in hospital after he disturbed a burglary at his property in Co Sligo. 

Meanwhile, Martin Bagnall suffered serious injuries when masked men broke into his home and stole from him in Kildare. 

Multiple burglary gangs are in operation across Ireland, with many using motorway systems to make quick getaways from the scenes of their crimes.

Gardaí are aware of this tactic and mount proactive patrols of major roads as part of Operation Thor, a nationwide initiative targeting burglary gangs. 

However, many of the gangs are aware of policing deficits in certain regions and are now targeting these areas, multiple informed sources have told The Journal

As a result of the latest attacks on the two older men, groups including Age Action and the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) have called for greater policing visibility in rural areas to ward off any criminal gangs operating in remote regions. 

There are concerns that a lack of resourcing in rural areas is making these regions targets for criminals, particularly gangs seeking to steal expensive farming machinery or tools which they can sell on.

Over 130 Garda stations shut during the economic downturn. Although stations reopened as part of a pilot project in 2017, the vast majority remain closed. 

Independent TD Marc MacSharry this week called for the Government to re-open rural Garda stations to prevent attacks by burglars.

“Obviously being from the northwest and the vicious one we’ve had in West County Sligo brings it all into focus,” he said.

“And government must focus on this, to the extent, to reexamine the short side of the projects of the past where we decided to strip out a physical presence of gardaí.”

Vice-president of the Garda Representative Association, Brendan O’Connor, believes that rural policing has become an afterthought for many in Garda management. 

“Policing in rural Ireland has been in decline for over a decade now,” he told The Journal.

“The decision to close Garda stations and downgrade District Headquarters marked the beginning of a decline that has continued ever since.

“While the association believes every station and unit needs to be properly staffed and resourced, it is unfortunately the case that rural locations tend to lose out in the allocation of finite resources. 

“We have seen a decline in the numbers of sworn members in recent times and this again impacts disproportionately on rural locations, as local managers try to maintain a reactionary fire brigade policing service with less gardaí.

“Promises of more operational gardaí on patrol and visibility never materialised.”

Less visibility

O’Connor says that fewer gardaí responding to calls and incidents over large geographical areas could lead to less visibility and reduced response times. 

He suggested the problem may be further exacerbated by a lack of qualified drivers and, in some locations, a shortage of garda vehicles. 

stepaside garda 285 Stepaside garda station in south Dublin which reopened in 2020. Sam Boal Sam Boal

Many frontline gardaí are not allowed turn on blue lights or sirens on patrol vehicles, as they are not adequately trained. O’Connor suggested that this can reduce response times, especially when gardaí have to travel longer distances to the scene of a crime.

Another implication of this restriction is that officers are prohibited from following a suspect who chooses to exceed the speed limit. 

“There is a fundamental flaw in a system that stops a police officer from following a suspect fleeing from a serious crime or even signaling them to stop,” he added. 

Members of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) will meet with Assistant Commissioner Paula Hillman next week to discuss policing issues. 

The group’s deputy president Brian Rushe said that recent attacks on elderly people in rural communities were very concerning. 

“Whatever resources are needed to assist the gardaí in their work have to be made available,” he said.

“We will be encouraging the farming community to provide whatever help they can to support the work of the gardaí. Apprehending those responsible requires a co-ordinated response.”

‘Nobody should feel under threat’

Rushe also described the impact of attacks in the wider community, beyond those who were the targets of crime.

He explained that attacks on elderly people in particular created worries among those in rural areas, and highlighted the vulnerabilities of living in rural Ireland. 

“Nobody should feel under threat in their own home,” he said.

“These attacks bring fear into the community. It takes away that sense of comfort and that’s a real loss. People who have been living in the same place their whole life suddenly don’t feel safe there and that itself is a tragedy.”

Age Action, a charity representing older people, likewise said it does not want the recent attacks to cause panic among the older population. 

The group’s spokeswoman Celine Clarke said it is important that people in the wider community take responsibility for each other and to be aware that “everybody is a possible victim – not just older people”.

“In our experience rural communities are very tight-knit,” she said.

“While they are well spaced out in terms of their houses, they do all look after each other. They will have contacts for their neighbours but the most important people to call if there’s an incident is the gardaí.”

Clarke said Age Action had heard from older people in rural communities who do feel more anxious and that services aren’t there.

“People do feel under threat, but it’s important that we don’t cause panic especially as older people are coming out of Covid,” she added, reiterating calls by the IFA and GRA for greater Garda visibility in rural areas. 

Investigations into the attacks on Tom Niland and Martin Bagnall are continuing. 

An Garda Síochána was contacted for comment. 

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    Mute Rob
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    Nov 5th 2020, 1:38 AM

    All this does means is that in 30yrs we have to go through all this again. It’s time the air was cleared, no more secrets.

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    Mute Côte D’oherty
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    Nov 5th 2020, 12:17 AM

    The Catholic Church is one of the most despicable institutions that has ever been imposed on us. Shame on whoever facilitated they’re reign of terror

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    Mute Côte D’oherty
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    Nov 5th 2020, 12:18 AM

    @Côte D’oherty: their *

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    Mute Tony Harris
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    Nov 5th 2020, 12:45 AM

    @Côte D’oherty: “we” facilitated it. They weren’t the Stasi, they weren’t the Gestapo, we flocked to them in our millions.

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    Mute Côte D’oherty
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    Nov 5th 2020, 1:07 AM

    @Tony Harris: agreed

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    Mute Trevor Donoghue
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    Nov 5th 2020, 4:37 AM

    @Tony Harris: Back then they were not the stasi or the gestapo, they were worse , The people feared the Stasi and gestapo because they were all afraid of them, they knew exactly what monsters they were and they would take your lives. The Church did worse because they were doing unspeakable evil disguised as God’s good work and people were good catholics, and we did not facilitate it, we were trying to save our very souls, not simply our lives. And you did not ever go against the church back then if you even wanted a life, or a job, or even to be part of the community you lived it. And the Church still need a long, long way to go to pay for the evil they have done.

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    Mute Tony Doran
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    Nov 5th 2020, 7:45 AM

    @Trevor Donoghue: Well said. People need to wake up and realise how oppressive it was for the Irish people living under those conditions, fearing the church and having to get in line, be good little Catholics or else!

    56
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    Mute ÓDuibhír Abú
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    Nov 5th 2020, 8:02 AM

    @Tony Harris: From the; Cradle to the Grave, the Roman Church Brain washed people.

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    Mute ÓDuibhír Abú
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    Nov 5th 2020, 8:05 AM

    @Tony Harris: When I look back, and Remember Grown Men, Elected Representatives of Dáil Éireann, bending down on their; Knee Kissing the Hand Of the Bishops.

    44
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    Mute Justin Gillespie
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    Nov 5th 2020, 9:13 AM

    @ÓDuibhír Abú: This is what happens when anyone gets unchecked power over someone else. What happened in church & state run institution’s was criminal & shameful & it need to be exposed but don’t think for one minute that abuse nó longer takes place.
    What goes on behind closed doors is equally horrific, the numbers of calls to Childline support this, & we need to beef up ways of allowing victims to reach out for help.

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    Mute ÓDuibhír Abú
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    Nov 5th 2020, 1:09 PM

    @Justin Gillespie: Difference is; an Organization claiming to be representatives of God on earth. Claiming to be protectors of the; Faith, but have destroyed it by their; Ungodly actions.

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    Mute paul mccoy
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    Nov 5th 2020, 12:55 AM

    Typical of this government. Bury it and it’s like it never happened so we don’t have to answer any nasty questions from the public.

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    Mute Bull McCabe
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    Nov 5th 2020, 12:17 AM

    Is there anything to be said to have another tribunal? That way it can be fully investigated and nobody will be prosecuted!

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    Mute Mary Nugent
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    Nov 5th 2020, 7:42 AM

    Shame of a Nation the land of sorrows.

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    Mute Gerry Ryan
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    Nov 5th 2020, 9:01 AM

    So Fine Gael have given the ok for comments

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    Mute Rathminder
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    Nov 5th 2020, 9:19 AM

    I have no connection to the homes but think the idea of a records centre on the site of the Magdalene Laundry is fitting. It could include a library of the books and documents written documenting the history which saw the Irish government’s pattern of discarding any responsibility for the unfortunate. It is fitting for the site, much as the work houses turned into museums. The survivors must have a say in this, however.

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    Mute Celtic Spirit
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    Nov 5th 2020, 9:18 AM

    Bye bye Catholic church. And not before time. An absolute dispicable, vile cult that were given control over our country after independence. From the British Empire to the Holy Roman Empire of the Vatican.

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    Mute Brendan Greene
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    Nov 5th 2020, 10:01 AM

    @Celtic Spirit: it is very naive to imagine that these abuses are in some way related to Catholicism specifically rather than human nature. We now know that similar things occurred all over the world in settings that were entirely secular. All societies like scapegoats to avoid acknowledging our complicity in what happened.

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    Mute Celtic Spirit
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    Nov 5th 2020, 1:04 PM

    @Brendan Greene: I wouldn’t agree with what you’ve said. The Catholic church as an institution were given free reign to do as they pleased without any retribution for their actions. They rules this country with an iron fist. People were conditioned plain and simple. The Irish people were too afraid to question the church in case they went to hell. That is the mark of a cult. Some of the victims then went on to abuse others making their victims secondary or proxy victims of the church.

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    Mute Rob Duggan
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    Nov 5th 2020, 9:16 AM

    People and the state failed we still do. We used to blame the brits, now we project blame to the church. Families shunned their daughters. Aethiest regimes are as brutal as those led by a theocracy(ccp/ussr etc) . We need to look at the ugly truth of our own human behavior and rule of law.

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