Written answers

Thursday, 16 May 2019

Department of Justice and Equality

Crime Prevention

Photo of Donnchadh Ó LaoghaireDonnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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23. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to tackle cross-Border crimes, rural crime and serious crime in view of concerns raised in these areas by organisations representing gardaí. [20945/19]

Photo of Charles FlanaganCharles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I can assure the Deputy that investing in the capacity of An Garda Síochána to tackle criminals and enforce the law effectively is a key objective of the Government's response to tackling crime.

The Government has dedicated very significant resources to support An Garda Síochána in tackling the activities of criminal gangs, including mobile criminal gangs, that seek to target our communities.

The Deputy will be aware that there are a number of successful Garda operations in place to disrupt the activities of criminal gangs.

Operation Thor was officially launched in November 2015 and focuses on burglary and burglary related crime. The scale of Garda activity under Operation Thor (as of 7 May 2019) has resulted in over 200,900 targeted checkpoints and more than 356,300 crime prevention patrols carried out nationwide. This concentrated policing activity has produced in the region of 10,000 arrests and 11,550 charges covering a range of offences which, in addition to burglary, have included handling stolen property, possession of firearms and drugs offences. An Garda Síochána will continue to bring pressure on the gangs and individuals responsible for these type of offences.

The Deputy will also be familiar with Operation Hybrid which has been deployed as a result of an escalation in violence between organised crime gangs in the Dublin Metropolitan Region. The strategic objective of Operation Hybrid is to have a three-pronged approach - preventative, investigative and targeted. As of 5 May, there have been in the region of 76,700 high visibility checkpoints carried out under Operation Hybrid. An up to date breakdown of arrests and charges is currently being prepared by An Garda Síochána.

The resources provided by Government to An Garda Síochána have reached unprecedented levels, with an allocation for 2019 of €1.76 billion. This represents an increase of over 6% over the initial allocation for 2018.

With respect to tackling cross border crime, there is strong ongoing co-operation between the Gardaí and the PSNI in respect of the full range of policing activities. A joint Cross-Border Policing Strategy operates between the two services. The Strategy covers the range of policing activities and contains a series of initiatives in which both police services are actively engaged.

The Joint Agency Task Force established under the Fresh Start Agreementengages the two police services in a lead role in structured strategic and operational co-operation in combatting cross-border organised crime. The Joint Agency Task Force is a positive example of the extensive North-South co-operation that is undertaken between the police and other law enforcement agencies aimed at tackling crime and enhancing the safety of all communities on this island.

I can assure the Deputy that the Government remains committed to ensuring An Garda Síochána have all the necessary resources to tackle all forms of criminality that affects our communities.

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