Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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518. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he has carried out any assessment of the impact of the closure of rural Garda stations on the levels and detection of crime in rural areas. [9237/14]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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In reaching a decision on the closure of Garda stations, the Commissioner reviewed all aspects of the Garda Síochána’s policing model, including the deployment of personnel, the utilisation of modern technologies and the operation of Garda stations, both in terms of opening hours and possible closures. In addition, all Divisional Officers were asked to assess the level of activity in each Garda Station in their area.

Garda management keep the distribution of personnel under continuing review in the context of crime trends and policing priorities so as to ensure that the best possible use is made of these resources.

The success of ongoing Garda crime prevention and detection work is demonstrated in the latest official recorded crime figures from the Central Statistics Office, which cover the 12 month period to end Q3 in 2013. These figures show reductions or no change in 12 out of the 14 categories for which figures are given, and an overall reduction of 7.1%, building on reductions recorded in the previous figures from the CSO. The continued impact of Garda operations on burglary is reflected in a significant fall of 10.4% in this category of offence, further accelerating the reductions seen since earlier in the year. Garda actions to counteract burglary under Operation Fiacla have led to the arrest of 7,973 persons and 4,558 persons being charged as of 31 January 2014.