Burglars Target Kennedy Park Area Of Thurles

UPDATE #1: Another house was burgled last night in the nearby Collins park area. According to reports the house was broken into around 9.00pm on Thursday evening. If anyone saw anything suspicious around that time please report it to Thurles Gardaí.

UPDATE #2: A house in Kennedy Park was broken into and ransacked for the second time on Tuesday evening, 7th Oct 2014. If anyone saw anything suspicious please report it to Thurles Gardaí.

Over the past few weeks some five private residences situated in the Kennedy Park area of Thurles have been burgled. According to statements passed to us by local residents some four of these private properties targeted had little or nothing of value removed, while the fifth home a sum of money, reported to be in the region of €5,000, was stolen.

The sad news however is that in all these five cases the burglar badly ‘trashed’ the interiors of their targeted dwellings; breaking clocks, ornaments and furniture in their efforts to locate any possible hidden valuables.

All of these reported burglaries appear to have taken place in broad daylight, with some of the homes attacked with the knowledge that these houses had been left unattended or unoccupied over a few days. Thurles Gardaí are currently investigating all five robberies.

This situation leaves residents to believe that these robberies are being perpetuated by a person or persons living in this immediate area of Thurles, latter who carry out the robberies themselves or indeed pass on known information to other criminals outside the area.

Ten Tips To Avoid Household Burglaries

1. Don’t boast in public places regarding your plans to visit ‘Aunty Mary’ next weekend. After all “The Only Secret Is the One Never Told,” and “A Careless Word, A Needless Loss,” still remains sound advice, to quote the text shown on posters displayed during the war years 1941-1945.
2. Give your spare key to a trusted neighbour or friend who lives nearby and ask them to keep an eye on your property while you are away.
3. Important: Check if a Neighbourhood Watch Group exists in your area and get involved. I am aware that recent attempts by local Gardaí in Thurles, to get people to become more involved in Community Neighbourhood Watch Groups, received little response from the local public. Maybe now is the time to reflect on this decision.
4. When away use automatic timers for your lights and keep a radio or television playing in your absence, but only loud enough to be heard from your dwelling thus not offending your next door neighbours.
5. Keep your blinds / curtains at their normal daytime position and where possible leave a car in your driveway.
6. Invest in pry-proof locks for your windows and install deadbolts on exterior doors, while also noting second story windows are also potential targets, particularly at the rear of your house.
7. Trim back overgrown shrubs and bushes that may obscure a public view of your home to the degree that all windows and doors are visible from your street or estate. You may enjoy privacy but so do burglars.
8. Should you make a major purchase, like a 42 inch flat screen TV, a PC or Laptop computer, don’t leave the box outside, jutting out in plain view of your bin. Cut it up into very small pieces and place it in a black plastic bag to dispose of in your dry recycling.
9. Of course a good idea, (if finances permit), is to have an alarm system installed. Even the fact that it looks like you have an alarm, is always a major deterrent to most would-be thieves. But if a thief chooses to ignore your alarm and grants himself access, the ear blasting siren will most likely ensure visits are cut short and neighbours are alerted.
10. Finally; a well-lit exterior is a wise move especially at the rear of your home, preferably fitted with a motion sensor.

In the words of Sergeant Phil Esterhaus from the once famous 80’s TV series “Hill Street Blues”: “Hey, let’s be careful out there.”