'Electric Picnic effect' skews latest Laois crime statistics

The reopening of the economy and the ‘Electric Picnic effect’ has skewed the latest crime statistics in Laois, according to the most senior Garda in the county.  

Chief Superintendent John Scanlan said the figures have been influenced by the reopening of society since the end of the Covid 19 lockdowns. He also pointed to the influx of 80,000 revellers for Electric Picnic in September.   

“We had two aggravated burglaries in the third quarter of 22, both of those have been detected so there are people before the courts and because of the small volume of them it is inappropriate to converse about them,” he told the latest Laois Joint Policing Committee meeting.  

"Burglaries went from 27 to 48. When the statistics are compared to 2019 before the lockdown, it is down 25 percent," said  Chief Supt Scanlan. 

He said domestic violence increased by 11 percent from 153 to 170. However, Chief Supt Scanlan explained that there is no specific domestic violence offence making recording problematic. The incidents recorded as domestic violence can vary and he noted the population has also increased.

Theft from the person rose from zero up to 14. “Those are Electric Picnic figures. The naught is, there was no Electric Picnic. The 14 is, there is Electric Picnic,” he told the Laois Joint Policing Meeting. 

In total, property crime rose from 205 in the third quarter of 2021 to 362 for the same period this year. The figure is down 25 percent on pre Covid lockdown figures from 2019, according to Chief Supt Scanlan. Crimes against the person are also “dramatically less” than they were before the lockdown, he said. The figure dropped from 129 in quarter three 2021 to 121 at the same time 2022.

Chief Supt Scanlan cited the “Electric Picnic effect” when noting the increase in the number of incidences of possession of drugs for sale or supply, which had jumped from 22 up to  50. 

“Simple possession 65 up to 346. I call it the festival effect. The opening up of our society. That is the case. You put 80,000 people into Stradbally, more than what was there yesterday. That’s the effect of things like that. It’s to do with proactive policing in that department,”  said Chief Supt Scanlan.  

Walkers should be compelled to wear high vis, says Laois Councillor

He said comparing quarterly statistics from 2022 with 2021 was probably not a valid comparison because the Covid lockdown restricted criminal activity. “From the quarter of 2019 the figures across the board are 25 percent less so that’s the landscape we are in now in terms of crime in the division,” he said.