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People urged to be vigilant ahead of expected spike in burglaries

Burglaries and related crimes generally increase in the winter months.

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN advised to be more vigilant about burglaries in the coming months ahead of an expected increase in such incidents during the winter.

An Garda Síochána commenced the winter phase of Operation Thor last Thursday, 1 October. The operation, which is designed to tackle the anticipated increase in the number of burglaries during the winter, will run until the end of March 2021.

Operation Thor, which has been running for five years, has “successfully reduced the rate of winter burglaries, leading to a significant decline in property related crime since its introduction in 2015″, a garda spokesperson said today.

The average number of residential burglaries reported during the fourth quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2015 (covering October to March each year) was 11,592. This has dropped to an average of 6,980 since the end of 2015 to date, a decrease of 39.8%.

Commenting on the current Operation Thor phase, Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll said burglary and related crime “has a particularly devastating effect on its victims”.

Throughout the winter phase of the operation, O’Driscoll will meet with those in charge of Roads Policing in each region, along with the Garda Analyst Service, to review policing activity undertaken and plan additional actions. The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) and Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) are also represented at these meetings.

Most common times for burglaries

In winter, there is a propensity for burglary to occur in the hours of 4pm to 9pm, with 42.4% of all burglaries occurring within these hours.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday are the most likely days for burglaries to occur in winter, according to gardaí.

Residential burglary in 2020 has fallen during the Covid-19 pandemic, with a sharp reduction observed in March and April in response to restrictions on work, travel, school and business.

Analysis from the Garda Síochána Analysis Service (GSAS) shows that:

  • March to August inclusive, there were 43.1% fewer residential burglaries reported compared to the same period in 2019.
  • From 2016 to 2019, the fewest burglaries occurred in June (7% of annual burglaries), while most burglaries occurred in November (9.7% of annual burglaries).
  • On average there were 38% more burglaries in November than there were in June. This represents an average of 334 burglaries.

People have been advised to do the following to help prevent burglaries:

  • Turn on some lights
  • Use timer switches
  • Lock all doors and windows
  • Use an alarm
  • Store keys away from windows
  • Don’t keep large amounts of cash or jewellery in the house

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    Mute Ciaran Ó Fallúin
    Favourite Ciaran Ó Fallúin
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    Nov 15th 2017, 2:42 PM

    Exercising his right to be all kinds of wrong.

    222
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    Mute Gillian Weir Scully
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:35 PM

    @Cultural Marxist: Quite right too and how many female mass murderers?

    67
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    Mute Cultural Marxist
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:40 PM

    @Gillian Weir Scully: Indeed.

    19
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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Nov 15th 2017, 3:50 PM

    Another case of a mass shooter having a history of domestic violence. If only there was some kind of law to prevent those with convictions from having access to guns. It must be hard for Americans to figure out….

    198
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    Mute Deborah Behan
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    Nov 15th 2017, 3:53 PM

    @Deborah Behan: and why did he go to the school? He must have wanted to kill the kids inside! Absolutely nuts.

    104
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    Mute Diarmaid Mac Aonghusa
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    Nov 15th 2017, 3:56 PM

    @Deborah Behan: In a country with such easy access to weapons a law like that would be pointless. I think getting upset about shootings in the US is a waste of time. It’s over, and the gun lovers won and won well. With more guns than people a change in any of the laws is futile. Just let them enjoy their freedom.

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    Mute Thought for Food
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    Nov 15th 2017, 4:03 PM

    @Deborah Behan:

    Yes, if only felonies prohibited people from legally acquiring and owning firearms in the US.

    Oh wait, it’s already outlined in Chapter 18 of the USC that felons cannot own firearms.

    37
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    Mute Larissa Caroline Nikolaus
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    Nov 15th 2017, 4:54 PM

    @Thought for Food: Go back, stroke your guns, troll, no-one cares to listen to your bs excuses for these killers

    64
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    Mute David On Tour
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:41 PM

    @Thought for Food: You’re clearly an expert on US gun law. Tell me, exactly why would any member of the public need to own a firearm?

    I’m interested because a guy on twitter told me earlier he needed a gun to defend himself against bears. I’m hopeful you can come up with an even dafter excuse.

    39
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    Mute GClare
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    Nov 16th 2017, 1:00 AM

    @Deborah Behan: he had to surrender his licenced guns after charges earlier in the year , the ones he used were illegal and registered to someone else

    15
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    Mute Michael Heery
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    Nov 16th 2017, 2:51 AM

    @Diarmaid Mac Aonghusa: about 400 millions guns in private hands ,,,africa is safer.

    5
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    Mute Thought for Food
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    Nov 16th 2017, 6:15 AM

    @David On Tour:

    How is defending themselves from a bear a daft excuse? Bear attacks on trails in the US are a relatively frequent occurrence.

    The needs for guns are varied. Target practice, hunting, self defence and just because someone wants one are all valid reasons.

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    Mute RónanMullsHisFaith#8
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    Nov 16th 2017, 7:08 AM

    @David On Tour: there is approx 8 million Americans that own on average anything between 8 to 142 guns..They need these guns to be able to shoot up tanks,fighter jets and incoming tomahawk missiles that have been fired from aircraft carriers..Any other silly question?

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    Mute Benson Hallahan
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    Nov 16th 2017, 8:35 AM

    @RónanMullsHisFaith#8: Don’t forget hurricanes!!

    9
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    Mute Ciarán Masterson
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    Nov 15th 2017, 3:03 PM

    “Neal’s mother told The Associated Press her son, who was a marijuana grower, was in a long-running dispute with neighbours he believed were cooking methamphetamine.”

    Well, he was definitely breaking bad!

    47
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    Mute Northern Craic
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    Nov 15th 2017, 11:42 PM

    @Ciarán Masterson: Nice neighbourhood.

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    Mute Polly Dolan
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    Nov 15th 2017, 2:53 PM

    Let’s be clear here he terrorised no one. Just an unhappy chap.

    29
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    Mute Kerry Blake
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:34 PM

    Well at least the guns involved didn’t kill anyone. Just another subject who had easy access to weapons….

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    Mute Thought for Food
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    Nov 16th 2017, 6:17 AM

    @Kerry Blake:

    He was legally barred from acquiring or holding firearms. How exactly is that “easy access”?

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    Mute Frank Hunt
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    Nov 16th 2017, 6:31 AM

    @Thought for Food: He was legally barred but yet got his hands on a semi automatic rifle and two hand guns, seems like easy access to me.

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    Mute RónanMullsHisFaith#8
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    Nov 16th 2017, 7:11 AM

    @Thought for Food: give up man.Your a$$has been handed to you on a plate sooo many times on this very subject..

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    Mute Thought for Food
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    Nov 16th 2017, 7:48 AM

    @Frank Hunt:

    So what would have prevented the same attack from happening here then? After all, the Bataclan attackers had easy access to automatic firearms even though legally they were forbidden from having them anywhere in the EU.

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    Mute John Owens
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    Nov 16th 2017, 3:59 PM

    @Thought for Food: have you lost your mind. All across the states there could be a mass shooting for every day of the week, but there hasn’t been more than a handful across all of Europe and Australia who are much stricter on gun ownership. You can ignore arguments if you like, but you can’t deny the endless reports coming out of one place where the laws are different… it’s not up for question at all. Americans in certain areas are complete idiots. It’s about time California and New York broke off from the madness in the middle. Most of the gang crime is in the major cities anyway where gun laws would be easier to police

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    Mute Bob Murphy
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:37 PM

    It must be a muslim

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    Mute David Cagney
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    Nov 15th 2017, 10:38 PM

    The GOP, the NRA, Christian Republicanism, the organisations that just keep on giving. How else would we have thoughts and prayers?

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    Mute Fiona deFreyne
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    Nov 15th 2017, 10:31 PM

    The killer used the guns for the purpose for which they are designed and manufactured, that is to kill and injure people.

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    Mute Martin Sinnott
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    Nov 15th 2017, 9:57 PM

    Not news anymore! Only the friends and relatives will Romberg this in six months. Mass shootings in USA

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    Mute Northern Craic
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    Nov 15th 2017, 11:49 PM

    @Martin Sinnott: There’s a news organisations guideline in place that says mass shooting incidents in the States that result in fewer than 5 deaths are no longer deemed newsworthy anymore. Not sure why this one got through – likely the school/kids element.

    So you’re correct, this isn’t news anymore.

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    Mute Cormac Ó Braonáin
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    Nov 16th 2017, 12:37 AM

    a lovely country

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    Mute John Mulligan
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    Nov 16th 2017, 7:33 AM

    The home of the brave.

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