Gardaí at Roscrea Garda Station are investigating a burglary at a private residence that occurred near Roscrea, Co. Tipperary on the afternoon of Friday, 14 May 2021.
On the date in question the victim was leaving his house at approximately 11.30am to collect his pension at a nearby post office. Whenever he left his house he was confronted by an unknown male who introduced himself as a Garda and said that he was there to inspect the man’s firearm. A second male was standing nearby but did not interact with the victim at this time.
The victim took the man into his house and showed him where he kept his firearm. While inside the house the suspect located a sum of cash and signalled for the other suspect to come into the house. The suspects took the money and told the man that they would count it in their car before returning it to him. They then left the premises but did not return. It is believed that they left the scene in a dark coloured Ford Mondeo. When the victim discovered that the men had left with the money he alerted the Gardaí.
The Ford Mondeo (06 registration) was purchased on the 13th of May 2021 in Clondalkin, Dublin 22.
Description of Suspects:
Suspect 1: Approximately 50 years of age, 6' and wearing a peaked cap.
Suspect 2: Late 30’s, 5'2”- 3”, with short fair hair and a very thin build.
Garda Appeal
- Anyone who may have been in the Clashagad area of Roscrea on the morning / afternoon in question to please come forward with whatever information they may have.
- Anyone who may have passed between Roscrea and Dunkerrin on the old N7 now the R445 between 11am and 12pm on Friday the 14th of May 2021 and who may have seen the black Mondeo at or near the injured party’s house.
- Anyone who may have seen the vehicle heading towards Monegal on the R445 (formerly the N7) after 11.30am and entering the motorway network at Junction 23, north bound. The next sighting of the car was again on the R445 travelling northbound through Borris-in-ossary.
- Anyone who may have had a similar type call from two individuals in a similar Ford Mondeo either around that time in May or since to please get in touch.
Gardaí at Nenagh Garda Station are investigating tel: (067) 50450
Campus Watch is similar to a residential Neighbourhood Watch scheme in that it is a crime prevention and community safety programme. It operates as a partnership between An Garda Síochána and the Campus occupants. It works on the basis that every member of Campus can help to improve the quality of life on site by keeping a look out for students, staff, and visitors, and reporting suspicious activities to the Gardaí. There are campus watch liaison Gardaí in every part of the country and their role is to provide you with any assistance you may need.
During the academic year we run information campaigns designed to keep students safe and secure. This year will be challenging as we have two cohorts of students effectively attending campus for the first time. We would ask students and parents alike to check out the Campus Watch Page on the Garda website which will provide plenty of information to help make your year a safe and secure one.
Personal Safety
As a freshman, get to know the geography of your campus as soon as you can. Find out about public transport timetables, where you can park vehicles or bikes securely, campus security buildings, and the local Garda Station.
College life should be about experiencing new things but remember when you are going out to PLAN and be Streetwise:
- Plan your night out - how you are getting there and back,
- Let someone know where you are going and when you’ll be back,
- Avoid walking alone in dark areas,
- Never attempt to reason with drunk or aggressive people and be
- Streetwise, get to know the locality and the surroundings, and mind your valuables.
It’s a good idea to upload emergency contacts onto your phone and activate Find my Phone on your device.
Our Substance Misuse campaign is entitled “Rise Above the Influence”
Fresher’s Week should be a time for celebration, the beginning of something good in your life. Don’t let drug use end your career before it starts.
If you use drugs such as Cannabis, Cocaine, Ketamine and MDMA, you are committing a criminal offence and also risking addiction, loss of career opportunities, under-achievement, and international travel restrictions. Taking other substances like cannabis edibles: jellies, sweets, drinks, vapes, or synthetic cannabinoids or nitrous oxide balloons also carries health and prosecution risks.
Taking un-prescribed ‘study’ drugs or sleeping pills can lead to anxiety, addiction and psychosis. Multiple or Poly-drug use is extremely dangerous and increases your risk of overdose or death.
While we strive to keep people safe, we also believe that you can also help keep yourself safe.
Contact the emergency services if you become ill after consuming a drug or are in the presence of somebody who may be ill.
Our “Rise above the influence” message is simple. Your future is in your hands. Seek out positive influences on Campus. Choose the influences which will enhance your future career. Make responsible decisions for yourself and be aware of those around you. Don’t become another victim of the drug trade.
Consent
During your college life you will be experiencing new friendships and relationships. Respect each other’s boundaries and diversity.
If you’re engaging in sexual activities, remember to always ask for consent and to communicate.
Accommodation Frauds
Gardaí are advising people to be wary of rental scams, particularly at this time of year when students are returning to college.
There were a total of 503 cases of rental scams reported to An Garda Síochána between 1 February 2019 and 31 May 2021.
These incidents have been declining in the last 18 months with Covid19, restrictions the likely cause of the decline. Almost half of these incidents occurred in the Dublin Region.
Just over €900,000 was stolen in rental scams over this period.
42% of all injured parties were under the age of 25.
72% of all injured parties were under the age of 35.
Red Flags
- When the landlord is unable to meet up to show you the property in person. Covid-19 restrictions no longer acceptable excuse.
- When communication is only through Text / WhatsApp or other social media platform.
- When the property is offered with no questions asked and payment demanded immediately before signing the lease.
- When you are asked to pay cash, cryptocurrency or money via a non-bank transfer. (such as wire transfer)
Check List
- Never agree to rent a property without first having the opportunity to view it.
- Do not hand over cash. Insist upon a proper receipt.
- Ensure that the keys work and you have proper contact details for the landlord/agent.
Detective Chief Superintendent Seamus Boland was in studio to offer advice to the public in relation to Operation Tara which was launched by An Garda Síochána on 2 July 2021. Operation Tara is aimed at tackling the threat posed by drug dealing and drug related intimidation and violence.
Operation Tara isfocused around four strands, namely:
- Crime Prevention and Protecting Communities;
- Crime Investigation and Operational Activity;
- Working in Partnership and
- Education & Awareness.
The operation places disrupting, dismantling and prosecuting drug trafficking networks as a priority and to discourage young people from becoming involved in drug related criminality.
Operation Tara is taking place in partnership with the community, with local Gardaí interacting with them for the purpose of assisting in preventing the occurrence of drug related criminality; reassuring them of the availability of the Garda Síochána to provide assistance as required.
The Garda National Community Engagement Bureau (GNCEB) is co-ordinating activity under the Garda Schools programme and Campus Watch programme, to increase awareness and education regarding these matters and to assist in crime prevention relevant to Operation Tara. The focus is to discourage young people from involvement in drug consumption or drug trafficking.
DRUG RELATED INTIMIDATION
The Garda Síochána recognise the devastating impact of drug related intimidation on the wider family and communities. Dedicated Drug Units have now been established in every Division across the country, and they are proactively targeting drug dealers.
We also have the Drug Related Intimidation Programme where a Garda Inspector is assigned responsibility for tackling drug related intimidation (DRI) in every Division and is a point of contact for persons wishing to confidentially report drug related threats.
We are not judgmental on this issue and we encourage people to come forward in confidence, as our priority and focus is on the drug trafficking and violent gangs.
The Drug Related Intimidation Inspector will-
- Advise, guide and support persons or families subject to intimidation and assist the person or family on deciding on an appropriate course of action to take.
- Ensure matters are investigated thoroughly if that is what the victim’s wishes.
- Ensure that persons identified as engaging in drug related intimidation become the focus of targeted Garda operations, which generally results in them being arrested and prosecuted for other offences such as drug dealing, money laundering, assaults and often having assets confiscated as proceeds of crime.
Finally, Detective Chief Superintendent Boland emphasised that An Garda Síochána can’t tackle the drug problem alone and while we already engage in partnership with other relevant agencies, such as government departments and community groups, our greatest partnership is with the public we serve.
Don’t assume that the Gardaí know who is drug dealing or engaging in drug related intimidation in your community because it’s very possible we don’t.
We all need to work in partnership and if we know who is engaging in drug dealing and associated threatening and violent behaviour, then those people will become our targets.
Operation Tara is currently active in your area so please help us to make our communities safer for everybody.
Gardaí at Leixlip Garda Station are investigating a Burglary that occurred in Celbridge on the afternoon of 8 May 2021.
The victim was in her bedroom when she heard noises coming from downstairs. The suspect came up the stairs and entered the victim’s bedroom. Upon discovering the victim the suspect turned around and ran outside to a Honda CRV jeep that was waiting for him. No items were taken during the incident.
Description of suspect: male, tall, 20 years old approx., black curly hair and a long face. He wore dark blue clothing.
Gardaí at Leixlip Garda Station are investigating tel: (01) 666 7800
Gardaí at Finglas Garda Station are seeking the public’s assistance with the identity of the above individual in relation to a hijacking that occurred on Jamestown Road, Finglas on the 5 July 2021 at approximately 7am.
During the incident the victim was threatened with a hatchet before having his car keys taken off him. The suspect then got in the victim’s car and drove away. The car was a Red Mercedes Benz E-series.
Description of suspect; 5'7”, possibly early 30’s, slim build, white skin and short mousy-brown hair. He spoke with a Dublin accent. He wore a dark top with a hood and dark coloured back pack. He was carrying a black hatchet.
Gardaí at Finglas Garda Station are investigating tel: (01) 666 7500
Gardaí at Portlaoise Garda Station are re-appealing for information into the disappearance of 25 year old Fiona Pender who was last seen in August 1996.
Fiona was living at Church Street, Tullamore in a flat that she shared with her partner.
She was 25 years old and seven and a half months pregnant. Fiona’s family were looking forward to the arrival of her baby following the tragic death of her older brother Mark, the previous year.
Fiona was a native of Tullamore and grew up in Connolly Park, in the town, with her parents Sean and Josephine, her older brother Mark and younger brother John. Fiona was well known in Tullamore and had worked as a model and a hairdresser in the locality.
Garda Appeal:
- An extensive Garda investigation was undertaken and a large amount of searches were conducted in surrounding areas through the years, but unfortunately no trace of Fiona has been found.
- While arrests were made in relation to this case, unfortunately charges were never brought. Gardaí are seeking information that would help in bringing the person(s) responsible for her death to justice.
- Fiona’s family were greatly affected by the disappearance of Fiona and her mother Josephine, who campaigned for years for justice for her daughter, sadly passed away in 2017 without having Fiona’s body returned to her. Fiona’s father Sean died in 2000 not knowing what had happened to his daughter.
- Since Fiona’s disappearance 25 years ago circumstances may have changed and perhaps there is someone who has information who didn’t feel comfortable coming forward previously but is now in a position to do so.
- An Garda Síochána would like to reassure any person who feels that they can assist with the investigation that any information received will be treated in a compassionate and sensitive manner.
Gardaí at Portlaoise Garda Station are investigating tel: (057) 867 4100
Paraic Coffey was only eighteen-years old when he was fatally injured by a vehicle while walking home from a disco sometime after 3am on the morning of 9 June 1996. Paraic was walking home to Rathcairn, Athboy from the Darnely Lodge Hotel on the Dunderry Rd when the collision occurred.
A local taxi driver had passed Paraic walking on the road and had observed a small dark coloured car approaching him from the opposite direction at 3.05am. A couple came across Paraic on the roadway seriously injured minutes later. He was removed to hospital by ambulance, and was pronounced dead on arrival.
It has been 25 years since Paraic’s tragic death and despite a prolonged Garda investigation, there has been no closure for the Coffey family. To date nobody has been prosecuted for Paraic’s death.
Garda appeal:
- Do you have any information relating to this case that may bring it to a conclusion? Gardaí would like to assure those that have information and for whatever reason have not previously come forward, that they will be treated sensitively.
- A lot of people who were teenagers and young adults 25 years ago, now have families of their own and would have a deeper understanding of the unbearable loss that the Coffey family have suffered and their continued search for answers.
- The nature of this incident would have resulted in damage to the vehicle involved and Gardaí want to appeal to anyone who remember a family member/friend having unexplained damage to their car or perhaps someone who was asked to carry out repairs in circumstances that seemed strange or suspicious.
- Gardaí want to ask people to look inside themselves and ask one question: Is there anything I can say that may in some way be important to this case?
- Gardaí want to speak to the person or persons directly involved in the incident that led to the death of Paraic. It is not too late to come forward and explain what happened and bring closure for yourself and the Coffey family.
Gardaí at Kells Garda Station are investigating tel: (046) 928 0820
On this month’s Crimecall Garda Adrian Corcoran was in studio to deliver a road safety message in relation to the loss of life on our roads and the contributing four Lifesaver Offences.
Adrian highlighted that so far this year there have been 102 fatalities, which indicate an increase on the previous two years. Since the June 28th Crimecall programme 45 people have lost their lives.
While deaths fell in most European countries due to the Covid 19 pandemic, unfortunately Ireland has shown an increase, which is of great concern to us.
The majority of drivers show a high level of compliance with road traffic legislation and speed limits and we thank them for their continued efforts in making our roads safer. But we still have a minority of drivers who continue to flout road traffic legislation.
We refer to the four offences which contribute most to road traffic collisions as ‘Lifesaver Offences’
These four lifesaver offences are namely;
- Ø Driving under the influence of drink / drugs
- Ø Speeding
- Ø Holding a mobile phone while driving
- Ø Non wearing of seat belts
Driving under the influence (DUI)
So far this year 2,711 people have been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and 2,403 people have been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs.
There has been an alarming number of people arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs over the past 18 months. This is a growing concern which is affecting people from all walks of life in our society.
With the easing of restrictions over the coming weeks we are expecting the numbers of people socialising to increase greatly. With this in mind we would like to remind people to never drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Appeal
- o Never, ever drink / drug drive
- o Book a taxi or use public transport
- o Nominate a ‘designated driver’
- o Make sure you are alcohol free the next morning
Speeding
So far this year 105,691 fines have been issued to drivers for driving above the speed limit.
Speeding is the biggest contributing factor to road deaths in Ireland. It’s a factor in one third of all fatal collisions.
Speeding in urban areas puts our most vulnerable road users, pedestrians and cyclists at risk. If a pedestrian is hit at 50kmph, they have a 50% chance of living, but hit at 60kmph and the chances drops to just 10%.
The higher the speed, the greater the likelihood of a collision happening. We are asking people to slow down and always drive within the speed limits.
Mobile Phones
So far this year 14,810 people have been issued fines for holding a mobile phone while driving.
Statistics show that making a call makes a driver 4 times more likely to be involved in a collision and texting makes a driver a staggering 23 times more likely to be involved in a collision.
Simply holding a mobile phone in your hand is an offence, you don’t have to be on a call.
Hands free or Bluetooth systems can be just as distracting as holding a phone. If using one of these systems, it should be done through voice commands or with the buttons on the steering wheel and calls should be kept as short as possible.
Seat Belts
So far this year 4,811 fines have been issued to people not wearing seat belts.
1 in 5 people killed on our roads were not wearing a seat belt.
Our advice is to everyone, whether driving or a passenger, please ensure that you are wearing your seat belt before you set off.
Seat belts dramatically reduce the risk of death and serious injury in the event of a collision.
We would also ask people to make sure children are restrained correctly in an appropriate restraint. Information on this can be found on the RSA website.
Conclusion
These four lifesaver offences are a contributing factor in most fatal collisions in Ireland. We are asking people to never drive while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, always drive within the speed limits, never use your mobile phone while driving and always wear your seat belt. Small changes in people’s behaviour can make the roads safer for all its users.