'Significant' rise in thefts from cars in Westmeath, say gardaí

The theft of valuables from cars is “the one category of crime that’s going up significantly” in Westmeath, according to the county’s top garda officer.

Chief Superintendent Peter Duff said there were 51 reported thefts from cars in Westmeath during the first three months of 2019.

That is an increase of 32 on the number of such thefts in the same period last year.

Speaking at Monday’s meeting of the county’s Joint Policing Committee, held in Athlone, Chief Superintendent Peter Duff said the rise in this type of crime was “a cause for concern” and he reiterated the importance of securing valuables when getting out of the car.

“Unfortunately people are continuing to park up and leave their sat-navs, phones, bags, mobile phones, and other items, on display in the car,” said Chief Supt Duff.

“If you’re going to leave your car to go for a walk somewhere, all valuables should be locked in the boot.”

He said a lot of thefts from cars were “opportunistic”, as thieves sometimes randomly try opening the doors of a number of cars until they come across one that’s unlocked.

“Because a lot of the cars (targeted) are unlocked, it can be very difficult to get any forensic information off them,” he said.

Cllr Tom Farrell said he was “worried” about the rise in car thefts and mentioned that people attending Mass in Drumraney had been targeted recently.

“Would it be possible to do an advertising campaign on this?” he asked.

“People can sometimes get very careless. When they’re going in to Mass, they’d nearly leave the keys in the car.”

Chief Supt Duff said the issue had been highlighted previously, both in Westmeath and nationally, but the number of car thefts had continued to increase.

Number of burglaries

The meeting also heard there had been 65 burglaries in Westmeath in the first quarter of the year (up by five from the same period last year), as well as four robberies from people (up by four) and two robberies from establishments (the same as last year).

In addition, there were 107 recorded thefts from shops in Westmeath in the first three months of this year, which was 15 more than in the same period last year.

Chief Supt Duff said there had been a large reduction in burglaries in 2018, so the increase this year was “coming from a low base”.

He also mentioned that there were 107 assaults in Westmeath in the first three months of the year, which was a 20% increase on last year’s figure.

“The increase in assaults is not unique to Westmeath – it’s an issue nationally.

“It has been attributed to a rise in the night-time economy.

“With more disposable income, more people are going out at night and that has a knock-on effect on policing,” the chief superintendent said.

Sadly there have already been three fatalities on Westmeath roads thus far in 2019, compared with one in the same period last year.

Chief Supt Duff said the three fatal collisions were being investigated by gardaí and he didn’t wish to comment on them as there may be a possibility of criminal charges arising from the investigations.