'Smash and grab' raids on shops contributed to rise in property crimes in county Tipperary in 2023

A spate of night-time “smash and grab” burglaries raids on shops along with a rise in shop thefts and “drive-off” type thefts contributed to the significant 16 % hike in property crimes in the county in the first 11 months of this year.

That’s what Garda Chief Supt. Colm O’Sullivan reported to the Tipperary Joint Policing Committee’s quarterly meeting.

In his latest crime statistics report for county Tipperary, he outlined that the number of property crimes reported in the county, ranging from robbery and burglary to theft, was up 16% between January and December 1 compared to the same period last year.

This translated to 1,669 property crimes reported this year compared to 1,434 over the same 11 months in 2022. That was an increase of 235 reported incidents county wide.

Some Garda districts in south Tipperary experienced more of a surge in property crimes than others.

In the Cahir Garda District, that includes Cashel as well as Cahir town, there was a 47% rise with 234 property crimes reported between January and December 1 compared to 159 over the same period last year.

Clonmel Garda District, that also includes Carrick-on-Suir, Fethard and Mullinahone, reported a 19% rise in property crimes of 550 reported in the 11 months up to December 1 compared to the same period in 2022.

And Tipperary Town Garda District reported a 13% rise in property crimes with 216 reported incidents in the district between January and December 1 compared to 191 in the same period last year.

Chief Supt. O’Sullivan said there was a rise in thefts from shops and also drive-off types of theft offences compared to last year.

But he noted that while reported property crimes were up 16% countywide the number of detections of these crimes by gardaí was up 17% compared to last year.

There were 611 property crime detections recorded in the county in the first 11 months of 2022 but 716 detections of these offences over the same period this year, which amounts to 105 more detections.

A closer examination of property crime figures reveals the number of reported burglaries in county Tipperary rose 5% in the first 11 months of the year compared to 2022.

A breakdown of these figures shows that there was a 13% rise in non-residential burglaries compared to a 5% rise in residential break-ins.

Chief Supt. O’Sullivan explained that a spate of night-time “smash and grab” type raids on commercial premises, particularly shops and filling stations in the Tipperary Town and Nenagh side of the division between March and July significantly contributed to this rise in non-residential burglaries.

These would have happened between 2am and 3am in the morning when a car pulled up, forced open the doors and burgled the premises. The key target was cigarettes.

He said a particular gang was involved in this type of raid that weren’t unique to county Tipperary. Shops in counties Mayo and Galway were also targeted.

The Chief Superintendent added that thankfully these burglaries have stopped in recent months.

A district by district break down of burglary figures shows that in Clonmel Garda District the number of non-aggravated burglaries (burglaries where no weapons are involved) fell by 19% from 69 reported in the first 11 months of last year compared to 56 in the same period this year.

The Tipperary Garda District reported a 15% rise from 46 to 53 burglaries.

However, the Cahir/Cashel District experienced a very significent 129% rise in non-aggravated burglaries though it must be pointed out that it was an increase from a low figure of 21 burglaries in 2022 to 48 between January and December 1 this year – a rise of 27 break-ins.

Deputy Martin Browne asked was the increase in burglaries in the Cahir district in residential or non-residential premises?

Chief Supt O’Sullivan responded that it was a mixture but more leaning toward the non-residential because of the problem during the summer with gang raids on commercial premises.

He said the 129% rise in burglaries in Cahir/Cashel District looked “frightening” but the figure behind that statistic was 27 extra burglaries, which was significant but they also had to look at the detections made across the county, he noted.