Gardai meet with community alert groups from Birr district

A recently-established grouping of community alert and neighbourhood watch organisations from across West Offaly held a meeting with Birr Gardai in Aghancon last night (Monday).

The Birr District Community Alert Committee was formed at the end of 2022, with the aim of establishing a regular two-way dialogue with Gardai in the area.

"We are a ground-up community initiative," the group's chairperson, Pat McLoughlin, from the Drumcullen Eglish area, told the Offaly Independent.

"We formed because community alerts and text alerts seemed to be on a downward spiral. We thought our role would work better if we were talking directly with the guards in the district where we're active."

The grouping includes representatives from community alert organisations in Clareen, Aghancon, Coolderry, Birr, Banagher, Ferbane, Belmont and Cloghan.

At the meeting this week, representatives of the Offaly Joint Policing Committee Cllr John Clendennen and Seamus O'Rourke (Ferbane Community Alert) were also in attendance.

Pat McLoughlin said the Birr District Community Alert Committee was meeting on a quarterly basis and at each meeting people from each of the local areas represented had an opportunity to raise any issues of concern that they might have.

He said crime levels in the district were, thankfully, relatively low but he cited illegal hunting and various types of scams as examples of issues being raised locally.

Monday's meeting also heard discussion about local CCTV provision and legislative changes happening in relation to the use of CCTV footage as evidence against littering offenders.

Pat added that there was concern about some 'gaps' in the district where community alert groups were not in place, which creates a problem for the Gardai if they wish to get a message out to locals there.

"The Gardai who are looking after these areas have an opportunity to tell us the issues that are impacting them.

"There's a discussion and a response, so we're working really as a partnership," he said.

Cllr John Clendennen outlined how the Joint Policing Committees structures were being replaced with a new Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP) model.

Cllr Clendennen also spoke of how 999 was was now "the number of first response" for people to use, rather than contacting their local Garda station.

"From my perspective, the other part of that is to know what your Eircode is," he added.

"It's surprising how many people don't know what their Eircode is, and in the event of an emergency it's probably going to be the first thing that's going to be called upon."