Assaults up in one part of Offaly and down in another

INCIDENTS involving assaults, threats and harassment increased in south Offaly this year but decreased in the rest of the county.

At a meeting of the Offaly Joint Policing Committee, senior gardai presented crime statistics for the second three months of 2023 and compared them to the same period in 2022.

The total number of crimes against the person, which include assaults, obstructing or resisting gardai, threats, harassment and menacing phone calls, were down marginally, from 88 in the second quarter of 2022 to 86 this year.

The vast majority – 64 in 2023 and 73 in 2022 - occurred in Offaly's Tullamore Garda District, which includes the towns of Edenderry, Tullamore and Clara.

Though the numbers in the Birr Garda District were much smaller there has been a marked increase, from only 15 in April, May and June last year to 22 in those months this year.

Cllr Peter Ormond said the figure for the Birr District stood out for him because it represented a 47% increase compared to a decrease in Tullamore.

Chief Superintendent Tony Lonergan, who took charge of the Laois Offaly Garda Division in July, said the gardai were looking at the situation in Birr.

“When you look at them, there's no particular pattern developing around them, they seem to be more one off incidents,” said Chief Supt Lonergan.

“We will have plans and we have plans in place around those, particularly at weekends.”

The largest single category in crimes against the person were minor assaults and these dropped from 48 in the second quarter of 2022 to 44 in the same period this year.

In contrast, more serious assaults, those where the victim was harmed, were up 20%, from 25 to 30.

Figures for drug offences were also presented at the meeting, with cases of having drugs for sale or supply to others up from five to 10, and cases of “simple possession” - where the person found had the drugs for their own use – up from 29 to 33.

A member of the committee from Edenderry, Fergus McDonnell described the drug figures as “incredulous”.

Mr McDonnell said there were drugs available at every town village and crossroads and in some towns “people openly see the dealers arriving to sell their wares”.

Cllr Peter Ormond, Fianna Fail, said everyone had a role to play in tackling the drug problem. “From a public representative point of view I find it frustrating. There's drugs happening now in all sectors of society, in our towns and villages.”

The Shinrone councillor said there needed to be a greater “link-in” between the local authorities and the gardai on the issue because he feared the consequences if it was allowed to grow further.

“It can start in a small way and escalate into bigger things,” he remarked.

Chief Supt Lonergan said policing was important, but inter-agency co-operation and education were needed too.

“We have resources deployed specifically in that area and it certainly will be one of our priority areas in our policing plans going forward.”

He stressed education of young people around the harmful effects of drugs and mentioned the success of “open day” initiatives run by the gardai.

He noted that Cllr Ormond had praised one that took place in Birr and said the gardai would be engaging with the public, including children, at another scheduled for Edenderry this Saturday.