Gardaí will launch the Winter Phase of its operation into tackling burglaries in Ireland today.
It's set to come into effect tomorrow and run until March 2023.
'Operation Thor' undertakes targeted enforcement and preventative activity in a bid to prevent potential break-ins as the shorter evenings creep in.
It comes as yesterday, three men were arrested after a vehicle was stopped on the M7.
Upon searching the vehicle, Gardaí seized suspected stolen property including a quad, a trimmer and a chain saw.
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As part of #OperationThor, Gardaí arrested 3 men and recovered a large amount of stolen property yesterday following a search operation outside Portlaoise.
Stolen property recovered included a chain saw, a quad, a strimmer and a trailer containing a power washer. pic.twitter.com/67qeOYzC63
— Garda Info (@gardainfo) September 30, 2022
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Since Operation Thor was initially launched in 2015, official sources say that burglary and related offences have steadily declined. Figures also show that there has been a 36% reduction in the rate of related offences since 2019.
So far this year, Gardaí say there have been 6,100 residential burglaries reported, compared to 10,297 during the same period in 2019.
Speaking today, Assistant Commissioner Paul Cleary said, "Residential burglary has a traumatic and often lasting effect on victims. We are especially aware of the need to protect the most vulnerable and older persons who may be fearful of their home being burgled. I want to reassure people that Gardaí nationwide are as determined as ever to target all of the activities of the criminals involved to ensure that we detect crime in advance.”
Gardaí have also encouraged people to download the An Garda Síochána Property App. The app was launched on the 20th of September 2022 with the facility to report thefts to An Garda Síochána easily.
It also allows people to keep a record of their personal belongings prone to being stolen like laptops, phones, jewellery and more.
