Burglaries can increase by 20% during winter months, gardaí say

Gardaí have said burglaries can increase by up to 20 per cent during winter months, when there is less daylight hours in the evening.

An Garda Síochána has announced a winter phase of Operation Thor, an ongoing Garda effort to tackle burglaries

The most common time for burglaries to occur during the winter is between 5pm and 9pm on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday, the Garda said.

The statement said since Operation Thor started in 2015 there has been a noticeable drop in burglary rates. So far this year there have been 6,100 reports of homes being burgled, compared with more than 10,000 in 2019.

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The plan includes increasing Garda patrols in burglary hot spots, as well as intelligence gathering to target known offenders.

Assistant Garda Commissioner Paul Cleary said home burglaries had 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,” he said.

“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,” he said.