Court prosecutions surge in Limerick as Covid continues to impact crime figures  

ALMOST 50,000 cases were brought before the courts in Limerick over the past twelve months, the head of the Limerick gardai division has revealed.

Chief Superintendent Gerard Roche has praised the “incredible work” being done by gardai in Limerick and says the number of prosecutions being brought before the courts in Limerick is considerably more than in Cork.

“The courts are extremely busy, we have up to six courts a day running in the city (plus Kilmallock and Newcastle West courts) and up to November 1, we had 39,000 cases dealt with. We expect that to end up at around 49 to 50 thousand cases over 221 court dates – that’s about double what it is in Cork,” he told the quarterly meeting of the Limerick Joint Policing Committee.

Updating members on crime trends across the division, Chief Supt Roche said the Covid-19 situation is continuing to have an impact on the figures.

“The figures are artificial in regards to Covid policing. There are still an awful lot of people working from home and this has reduced the number of burglaries – particularly throughout the county,” he commented adding that some of the policing priorities changed in the first quarter of 2021 with the easing of public health restrictions.

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While there has been a reduction in most categories of crime, one area of concern is domestic abuse.

“It’s very much a national concern – it’s up 21% (in Limerick),” he said adding that Operation Faoisimh is working very effectively across the division.

“Our call backs are up by over 80% at the moment so nearly everybody who rings in we are able to get back to them. It’s a worry and it’s reflective of Covid and what’s going on with people being at home all the time and then different things happening with regards to schools and the abuse of drugs and alcohol which is not good,” Chief Supt Roche told the meeting.

Incidents categorised as domestic abuse include breaches of court orders, domestic disputes or any incident with a domestic MO.