Westmeath councillor highlights need to focus on anti social behaviour

An upsurge in antisocial behaviour in Castlepollard in recent months has stirred one local elected representative to take action. “Over the last couple of months, Castlepollard, no more than any other town, has seen a small element of antisocial behaviour going on. There’s a small number of individuals and they’re known to us and they’re known to the Garda,” Cllr Alfie Devine told the Examiner.

The Fianna Fáil elected representative took to social media last week to say that “vandalism and intimidation by a certain number of youths will not be tolerated”.

Cllr Devine explained that he was compelled to take action: “Some things have been getting out of hand lately. I am the chair of the Castlepollard Town Team and we feel that we need to write a letter to the Gardaí in relation to what we need to do going forward and how we would curtail this getting out of hand or getting any worse.

“There are a lot of residents who feel insecure. They feel that there is a lot of intimidation going on, and some of them are afraid.”

He believes the problem lays at the feet of “a minority of youths” and insists that “it won’t be allowed to continue”.

“There’s a new town park there and some people are afraid to run in the park because of this behaviour. These individuals are making offensive comments to people, even young kids, as they’re walking by.

“The gardaí in Castlepollard have to cover a huge area, we know they are doing what they can with stretched numbers, it’s not their fault. It’s only when something happens that we feel there’s a presence there,” he said.

Cllr Devine spoke of a public anxiety about escalation: “When we were growing up there was always a garda presence around the town, even though there were never really any issues.

“The issues there at the moment are not that serious, but they could get out of hand. There has been a lot of damaged property over the last couple of weeks and attempted break-ins.”

Castlepollard Town Team have prepared an open letter to the garda superintendent asking specific questions on how they are going to deal with the matter: “We’re not identifying anybody but we feel the gardaí need to put a focus on getting it sorted,” Cllr Devine said.

Efforts are being made to provide the youth of Castlepollard with alternative activities: “We have Foróige, who set up here last year as a full time service in Castlepollard now. They’ve done a huge amount of work over the summer with all the younger group of kids from 10-year-olds up to 18-year-olds.

“They’re taking them on field trips. They’ve been doing summer camps along with the GAA camps and it’s been a massive positive for Castlepollard. Over time they will take all the kids in the area in and have after-school activities, weekend activities, holiday activities and it focuses them on other things,” he said.

The Fianna Fáil councillor said the town team have plans for Castlepollard such as a Youthreach centre, childcare facilities and further community hubs: “As part of the Castlepollard Town Team, who represent the majority of the Castlepollard residents and businesses, we will ensure that everything will be done to curtail this behaviour,” said Cllr Devine.