Unlocked houses and cars are still giving “opportune criminals” easy access to goods owned by people in Clare.
Theft offences decreased in Clare last year but Chief Superintendent Seán Colleran has warned that more vigilance is needed from homeowners in the county by locking the doors to their home and cars.
Instances of home burglaries dropped by 57% when comparing 2019 figures with 2018. There were 68 less thefts from vehicles with an 11% decrease in both thefts from shops and other thefts. “The reduction in property burglaries is better than what we are seeing nationally. There has been a significant reduction in thefts from MPVs,” Colleran told a recent meeting of the Clare Joint Policing Committee.
However the Chief Supt has warned there is already “a trend upwards” in thefts from vehicles based on preliminary analysis of 2020 robberies. “There is a significant number of cars and houses that aren’t locked. Opportune criminals will try a few cars in estates, they will take as much as they can. Sometimes the keys to the house are even left in the cars, an injured party won’t notice for a few days. If you have an alarm in your home, set the alarm”.
