Slight rise in Laois property crime in first quarter of 2024

Property crime rose by 17 percent in the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. 

The figures were revealed at the latest Laois Joint Policing Committee meeting in Portlaoise earlier this month. 

The most significant rise was recorded in thefts from vehicles which rose from 11 to 35 while thefts from shops rose from 139 to 178. 

Garda Superintendent Eamon Curley said burglaries had dropped slightly from 48 to 51. He said the theft from vehicles had increased but he pointed out that a person had been “arrested and charged and given a custodial sentence” in relation to 14 of the 35  incidents. 

He said theft from shops had increased by 29 percent and garda were responding under 'Operation Táirge' which he said had been “quite successful” in targeting retail theft. He said bike theft had risen from one to five, while car theft had reduced from  23 to  21.

The statistics show the number of robberies from the person where violence or the threat of violence is used, dropped from four to two during the first three months.  

In total, gardaí dealt with 356 incidents of property crime in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 303 during the same time in 2023.