THE INCIDENCE of recorded crime has fallen significantly since the onset of the recession in 2008. Figures supplied by the Garda Síochána and the Central Statistics Office suggest a fall of 13 per cent in headline crime during the past four years, even as the number of burglaries has moved rapidly in the opposite direction. The changing nature of criminal activity, lower reporting levels and a decrease in Garda manpower may have contributed to this development and these issues have been explored over the last number of days by Irish Times correspondents.
Caution should be exercised in interpreting these figures. It is not the case that Ireland has suddenly been transformed into a law-abiding society. The statistics do not include the incidence of homicide or sexual offences. Neither do they reflect other forms of crime, ranging from revenue offences to welfare fraud, health and safety breaches and damage caused to the environment. They do, however, show a sharp increase in the number of burglaries being committed in densely populated urban areas. This phenomenon has been attributed to the activities of young drug addicts.
It is hardly surprising that Minister for Justice Alan Shatter should seize on falling crime figures to justify a further rationalisation in policing services. Three years ago, the McCarthy report on how government savings could be made recommended that half of the State’s 702 Garda stations should be closed.
It was estimated that this action would generate savings of €1 million per annum. Nothing was done. Then, last year, Mr Shatter announced that 31 stations would close in 2012. He also asked Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan to identify what stations might be closed in 2013.
Resistance to these measures has come from the Garda Representative Association, the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors and from those communities likely to be affected. It has been argued that policing is not just about crime statistics but about providing public reassurance and security oversight. Community policing and local knowledge can help to resolve public order issues and family rows before they reach the courts, while identifying and dissuading potential law-breakers. Despite that, savings will have to be made in the December budget if the Government is to meet its fiscal targets.
As the nature of crime and society changes, new responses are required. The number and location of police stations has hardly changed since the foundation of the State when a bicycle was the normal mode of transport. Reform in recent decades has involved a form of attrition, with smaller stations opening for restricted hours. The upshot is that 40 per cent of stations are now in a poor state of repair and lack modern communication facilities. Some record fewer than five crimes a week. In such circumstances, as the number of gardaí available for duty falls and financial resources are reduced still further, station closures are inevitable.