WEARING of face masks aided robbers in thefts from shops where CCTV was not in operation, Clare’s Chief Superintendent has admitted.
A sixty nine percent increase in thefts from Clare shops was recorded from November 1st 2021 to January 31st 2022 when compared with the same time twelve months previous.
Over the 2020/21 period a total of 52 thefts from shops were reported to Gardaí, however this jumped by 36 to 88 for the 2021/22 equivalent.
Chief Superintendent, Seán Colleran acknowledged it was “a big jump”. He added, “It coincides with an opening up of the economy and back to the way it used to be for opportunist criminals, there is quite a high detection rate in that. The figure can be alarming but we have strong investigative processes”.
This rise in crime in some instances has been aided by the wearing of face masks, the Chief Supt revealed. “Everyone started wearing masks and it suited one area of society greatly to wear a mask and not to draw attention to themselves”. This issue is eliminated in settings where working CCTV is in place, Colleran said, “as much as we think masks will stop us from being identified, CCTV will help us to identify them”.
Speaking at Monday’s meeting of the Clare Joint Policing Committee, Cllr Pat Daly (FF) described the rise as “a frightening increase”. The Ennis representative said, “I know of shops in town that can’t afford CCTV but have their shops robbed every day of the week”. He appealed to the county’s Oireachtas members to put in place some form of grant aid to allow businesses avail of CCTV, “every shop in this day and age should have CCTV”.
Chair of the JPC, Cllr John Crowe (FG) said the subject of shop thefts was “very dear to my heart” due to his family’s involvement with stores in Sixmilebridge. “It is a massive jump, having been in business for years I can understand the pressure on the people trying to run their business, they are there from 6am to 10pm, they are doing their very best for communities”.
