Gardaí in west Dublin have set up a special crime prevention operation to target gangland criminals and car thieves.
In a significant increase of on-street officers, extra uniform patrols and checkpoints in places such as Clondalkin, Mulhuddart, Blanchardstown and Ballyfermot are to be supported by armed detectives and the Emergency Response Unit.
Gardaí said last night that while the strategy was primarily preventive, it would hopefully lead to an increase in crime detection.
A Garda spokesman told The Irish Times: "The operation is a high-visibility policing strategy set up to target the activities of gunmen and drug dealers, but it is also aimed at violent gangs who hang around residential areas robbing, frightening and intimidating people."
The Garda gave no indication on the life-span of the unit but the strategy, which was decided at recent meetings of senior management, is to be reviewed on an ongoing basis.
The extra uniformed gardaí will man checkpoints and patrol areas such as Sheepmore and Mountainview in Blanchardstown and parts of Mulhuddart and Ballyfermot where there have been large increases in the numbers of shootings, car thefts and burglaries.
Gardaí say they also intend to monitor and disrupt the activities of known serious gangland criminals to try to tackle drug dealing and gun crime.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice said: "While the details are clearly operational matters for the gardaí, it's obvious that the extra €4 million announced by Minister McDowell recently has been instrumental in the realisation of such a unit."
The Labour TD for Dublin West, Ms Joan Burton, last night welcomed the move.
"The Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner have been left in no doubt by residents that some estates in west Dublin were out of control and, in effect, appeared to be abandoned by the gardaí," she said.