Statistics released at Monday's Galway City Joint Policing Committee confirmed that 53 burglaries took place in January and February 2020 with only 18 recorded in the same months in 2021.
There were 98 shop thefts in 2020 with 42 this year - a decrease of 57 per cent. Superintendent Tom Curley explained that the chief reason for the significant reduction in number was 'a result of the pandemic because of less movement of criminals in the city and county'.
Cllr Owen Hanley, who praised the sacrifices being made by citizens, asked what should be an increased focus over 2021. Chief Supt Curley identified online fraud and the fact that people will hopefully return to the workplace in the coming months as two areas that will need to be watched carefully.
Cannot let guard down
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"As the economy gets back to semi-normal you will have less people working from home, we can't let our guard down in relation to the safety and security of our property," Chief Supt Curley stated. "That is one of the main reasons why burglaries and thefts from dwellings are down because people are occupying their homes and apartments.
He concluded: "At an early stage we will be using our analysts regarding the monitoring of crime and what we will be doing is if we see any spike in any particular area we will be reverting our resources into that particular area."
