Survey finds support for guards high - but fear of crime also high

Almost 60% of people in Westmeath and surrounding counties lack confidence in the criminal justice system, but this disatisfaction does not stretch to their local boys in blue according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO)The latest Crime and Victimisation Quarterly National Househould Survey, which was released by the CSO last week, revealed that while while 87% of people feel that crime is a very serious proplem and a significant majority say the lack confidence in the criminal justice system, their disatisfaction does not extend to the Garda Siochána with over two thirds of those surveyed rating their local members of the force as “good” or “very good.” Only 5% said that they were “very poor”.However, despite their confidence in the Gardai, 40% say they worry about becoming a victim of crime and over 30% of people don’t feel safe in their own neighbourhoods after dark. One in eight say that the don’t feel safe in their home. Almost one in every three people felt that there was more crime in the locality over the past 12 monthsThe annual report also revealed that one in ten local households experienced some form of crime in the last year. Vandalism was the most common crime reported with 5% of household’s surveryed saying that they were the victims of vandals.The second most common form of crime in Westmeath and the rest of the midlands is thefts from vehicles. According to the survey, local car owners, along with their Dublin counterparts, are more likely to have items stolen from their vehicles than any other part of Ireland with 4% of people saying they had been the victim of this crime.Despite predictions that crime would increase during the recession, the new CSO figures have revealed that their has been a reduction in crime rates between 2006 and 2010.