Gardaí have said burglaries can increase by up to 20 per cent during winter months, when there is less daylight hours in the evening.
An Garda Síochána has announced a winter phase of Operation Thor, an ongoing Garda effort to tackle burglaries
The most common time for burglaries to occur during the winter is between 5pm and 9pm on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday, the Garda said.
The statement said since Operation Thor started in 2015 there has been a noticeable drop in burglary rates. So far this year there have been 6,100 reports of homes being burgled, compared with more than 10,000 in 2019.
Protestant churches face a day of reckoning with North’s inquiry into mother and baby homes
Pat Leahy: Smart people still insist the truth of a patent absurdity – that Gerry Adams was never in the IRA
The top 25 women’s sporting moments of the year: 25-6 revealed with Mona McSharry, Rachael Blackmore and relay team featuring
Former Tory minister Steve Baker: ‘Ireland has been treated badly by the UK. It’s f**king shaming’
The plan includes increasing Garda patrols in burglary hot spots, as well as intelligence gathering to target known offenders.
Assistant Garda Commissioner Paul Cleary said home burglaries had a “traumatic and often lasting effect on victims”.
“We are especially aware of the need to protect the most vulnerable and older persons who may be fearful of their home being burgled,” he said.
“I want to reassure people that Gardaí nationwide are as determined as ever to target all of the activities of the criminals involved to ensure that we detect crime in advance,” he said.
