Statistics show that nearly 400 knife crimes have been reported to the Gardaí in the Galway Division since 2016. These statistics, which were obtained by Aontú, show that in a seven year period nearly 60 occurrences of knife crime were reported in Galway per year with some 13,000 knives seized by Gardaí nationwide during the same period.
The data shows that in Galway in 2016 there were 42 reported knife crimes. This figure jumped to 76 in 2017, 49 in 2018, 89 in 2019, 84 in 2020 and 44 in 2021, the most recent year for which statistics are available. The amount of knife seizures in 2023 (2,132 ) has risen rapidly compared to the 2013 figure (1,314 ).
Recorded figures at in 2022 found that there had been a 20% increase nationally in cases of attempted/threats to murder, assault, harassments and related offences.
Commenting on the statistics, the Aontú representative for Tuam, Luke Silke, said that he felt concerned to walk down certain streets in Tuam and said that there were valid concerns around the rise of burglaries in the Headford region last year.
“These are worrying statistics. There is certainly a perceived rise in crimes in Co Galway in recent times. Galway is becoming more like Dublin in that there are certain streets, in the city, but also locally in Tuam, which I wouldn’t walk down late at night. Old people in their homes are feeling terrified with the spate of burglaries we saw last year – particularly in Headford”.
Silke feels that the solution to the issue lies with additional investment into Garda resources and opening of now closed rural Garda stations.
“When I go up to Dublin with my job in the Dáil, I regularly see dots and puddles of blood on the street pavements – O’Connell Street is now a no-go area even in broad daylight. Without proper investment in Galway – in terms of additional Garda resources, and additional Gardaí and the reopening and operation of rural community Garda stations, I’d be afraid we might end up the way Dublin is.”
“We cannot persist with a situation where elderly people are lying awake at night in fear, having locked not only their front doors, but also their bedroom doors – nobody should have to live like this. I’m also concerned that we might see the rise in vigilante groups if the State does not properly tackle rural crime.”
Armed with these figures, we asked Galway residents, both city and county how they felt about the figure and if it reflected the Galway they know. Some were shocked but not surprised, like Anne, a professional who moved to the city for work in 2016.
“It’s not great, is it? In some ways I’m surprised because I don’t hear of many stabbing cases in Galway, let alone enough to make up 400 cases, but in other ways I feel as though there has been a change in the atmosphere in the city and it feels less safe.”
Finbar, another resident of Galway city who is originally from the county said that the figures didn’t really surprise him, “Anyone can get a knife, as far as weapons go it’s the easiest thing to get your hands on, so I’m not surprised there have been so many stabbings but I have no idea how you’d stop it from happening.”
Martin, who lives in a rural part of Galway county said that he was shocked, because he couldn’t recall a case of a stabbing in Galway in his memory.
“I am fairly shocked by those figures to be honest; I would not have said that Galway has a problem with knife crime but apparently we do. I can’t remember the last time I heard about a stabbing in Galway.”
The last answer came from someone who wanted to remain anonymous, but said that she wasn’t overly concerned about the figure.
“I think that 400 seems like a lot when you hear it initially, but over a seven year period and given that it’s something I’ve only heard about happening a few times off the top of my head, I don’t know if it is a cause for major concern. It will make me cautious walking around the city, but then again I am already cautious about walking around the city by myself.”
