Mayo councillor disputes crime survey findings

A Mayo councillor has rubbished suggestions that local crime is “not a problem”.

Cllr Michael Kilcoyne made his comments in response to a 2022 Garda Public Attitude Survey which found that the number of people who believe local crime is “not a problem” has risen by 13 per cent since 2019.

The national survey found that 45% of people believed local crime is “not a problem”. This is higher than in both 2018 and 2019 (31% and 32% respectively) and similar to 2021 (46%).

According to respondents, national crime is seen as more of a problem than local crime.

In addition, 49% of people said they did not worry about becoming a victim of crime and most respondents (63%) reported having “no fears” or “very few fears” about crime. The majority (58%) said fear of crime had no impact on their quality of life.

“I totally disagree with that. That’s not what I am getting on the ground,” said Castlebar-based Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne. “People are concerned about their cars being broken into as we saw recently here at the Church of Ireland. People are concerned about anti-social behaviour, they are concerned about the lack of police on the street. I am not sure where they got these people surveyed from.

“I would raise questions about some of these surveys. People are telling me quite the opposite. In this county, we had a man who had to follow the robbers himself because they couldn’t get a Garda car. I don’t know where these findings apply but they certainly do not apply to Mayo,” Cllr Kilcoyne added.

Trust in An Garda Síochána at 90% remains at a very high level as in 2021 and 2019 (91%), the survey states.

The Garda Public Attitude Survey of 7,699 people, aged 18 years and over, and 389 young people (16 and 17) was undertaken in the second half of 2022 (August to December) by Behaviour and Attitudes (B&A) on behalf of An Garda Síochána.

Satisfaction with An Garda Síochána also remains at a high level with 75% of respondents satisfied with Garda services provided to local communities. The highest level of satisfaction with Garda service was greatest for those aged 65 years and older and for 18-24 year olds (78% and 80% respectively).