Shopkeepers delighted to see more Gardaí on the beat in Portlaoise

Portlaoise retailers say an increased garda presence on the town's streets is having a positive effect for most shops. 

Chairman of Downtown Portlaoise, Andrew Shaw of Shaws said  “I have recently found the gardaí very proactive. They have listened to us as retailers”.  

He said “the beat has started up again, that is a Christmas beat. I have seen guards are actually around and they walked around the premises yesterday”. 

He acknowledged the fact that there would always be crime.  “There is also crime, petty theft, it is a problem and it really ramps up this side of Christmas,” said Mr Shaw. 

He revealed that Downtown Portlaoise had conducted a survey of retailers and the one overarching request was a greater police presence on the streets. 

Mr Shaw said gardaí have given no firm commitment to keep the beat going but he was hopeful it would be continued. 

“They said we are going to try our best after Christmas,” he explained.  

He believes it will be budget-dependent. 

“What I would be encouraging is - crime doesn’t disappear- that is to make Portlaoise as crime-free as we can, and that is done by boots on the ground,” said Mr Shaw.   

Owner of Mulhalls Supervalu in Portlaoise, Ger Mulhall revealed he had just been speaking to two gardaí who were on the beat in Portlaoise that day. 

“Ever since the new Superintendent came in, Brian Farrell, there definitely has been a more positive number on the streets,” said Mr Mulhall. 

“My experience in the last six to eight weeks is a marked improvement on the number of patrols around on the ground,” Mr Mulhall remarked.

He said the thefts haven’t gone away but the presence of gardaí on the ground does act as a deterrent has resulted in an improvement at the shop. 

Mr Mulhall says it can be frustrating for gardaí and retailers to see people getting lengthy prison sentences for theft being released within a few days or weeks. 

According to Laois Garda Crime Prevention Officer, Sgt Graham Kavanagh, “over the past twelve months, retailers in Laois/Offaly reported 970 incidents, amounting to €115,000 in stolen property, a 25% reduction on the previous year. The busiest period for offending remains between 12 pm and 8 pm., and the average loss per incident is €165.” 

Martin McSorely, who owns McSorley’s Drive Centra on the Mountrath Road in Portlaoise said he hasn’t experienced any improvement. He said theft and anti-social behaviour remain  major problems at his Portlaoise store. 

“We have done stuff ourselves to try and help it a little bit,” said Mr McSorely. He revealed a number of people have been barred from the store and they close the deli and public seating early in an effort to deter anti-social elements. 

When asked if he had noticed any improvement or additional garda activity around the store he said: “We certainly don’t find that. We have had incidents reported that it has been three days to come to us,” he remarked. 

“We don’t feel any improvement. We have installed A.I cameras,” Mr McSorley said. He says retailers' hands are tied due to GDPR(General Data Protection Regulation). He is in a retail forum which was told earlier this year that a successful garda pilot project in inner city Dublin would be rolled out nationwide but that hasn’t happened. 

He too feels the criminal justice system is failing to deal with offenders. “They walk in one door and out the other, it is unreal,” he said. 

Mr McSorley said the issues in Portlaoise primarily relate to younger people hanging around and he said the guards’ “hands are tied” when it comes to dealing with youths. He believes shoppers avoid the store because of the people hanging around. 

“We have nine service stations around the country and this is the only one that is in decline,” Mr McSorley revealed. He said “people don’t like coming in or out” of the store. 

Although he hasn’t noticed an improvement, he does believe an increased garda presence would help. 

“If they knew that there is a garda going to come by they will move to areas where gardaí aren’t around because they don’t want to be known,” he said. 

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Elsewhere in  Portlaoise, a staff member at Carryout Off Licence on the Mountmellick Road in Portlaoise believes there has been a decline in retail crime. 

“Over the past few months we have definitely seen a lot less incidents around the store,” he said. 

The employee said “recently there was this small incident where a guy took a can of something”. Unusually, he said the man returned five minutes later and paid for the can. He believed things have improved in recent weeks.