Lock your cars and homes – garda message

An Garda Síochána has a very important message to communicate following a serious increase in burglaries and thefts from cars - as well as the theft of cars - in recent weeks in the Tipperary Division.

Gangs of youths are driving around looking for vehicles to steal. They arrive in an area and go around checking the doors of cars and houses to see if they are unlocked.

“What we are finding is most of these vehicles are left open and sometimes with the keys in the ignition,” said Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant John McCormack. “Doors of houses are sometimes left unlocked; this is giving the criminal the perfect opportunity with keys available to vehicles in some cases.

“We’re making it easy for them,” Sgt McCormack said. He added that stolen vehicles are often used to commit further crimes, as recently happened when a car was stolen in Clonoulty and used for a series of burglaries in Hollyford, Kilcommon and Newport.

An Garda Síochána is asking the public to:

• Lock your homes and put the keys away safely

• Turn on your alarms

• Lock your cars and don’t leave anything valuable in your vehicle

“Let’s keep our community safe and report any suspicious activity in your area to the gardaí.”