Crime « Thurles Information

Free Property Marking Services Available At Venues During May 2024.

Tipperary Central Community Policing Unit will be out and about at venues across Tipperary from today, Friday May 24th, until May 31st, 2024.
They will be offering a ‘Property Marking Services’ in each community visited, giving people the chance to have any valuable property marked with their Eircode.
Gardaí would especially like to see owners of high value items e.g. Trailers / Lawnmowers / Power tools etc. attend at the venues tabled hereunder. (For more details visit https://propertymarking.ie )

Date:	Time:	Venue:
May 24th.	12:00pm – 4:00pm.	Knockanrawley Community Resource Centre, Tipperary Town.
May 26th.	3:00pm – 7:00pm.	Rahealy Primary School, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
May 27th.	3:00pm – 7:00pm.	*Ballinunty, (opposite graveyard), Killenaule, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.*
May 28th.	3:00pm – 7:00pm.	Moyne GAA Club, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
May 29th.	3:00pm – 7:00pm.	Kickham GAA Club, Dundrum, Tipperary, Co. Tipperary.
May 30th.	4:00pm – 7:30pm.	Lattin GAA Field, Lattin, Tipperary, Co. Tipperary.
May 31st.	3:00pm – 7:00pm.	Borrisoleigh, GAA Field, Thurles, Co. Tipperary

Gardaí will also use this opportunity to speak to those in attendance on all aspects of safety (including personal security, online security and in particular, road safety).

So please do come along to the named venues during the times stated above.

Legislation Targeting Those Who Groom Children To Commit Crime Welcomed.

Up to five years imprisonment if found guilty on indictment.
One of a set of holistic measures under the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027.
Complemented by Greentown Programme which seeks to disrupt the influence of organised crime groups on young people.

The Minister for Justice Mrs Helen McEntee and the Minister of State with responsibility for Youth Justice Mr James Browne have welcomed the coming into effect of legislation criminalising adults who draw children into crime.

Minister McEntee has this morning commenced the Criminal Justice (Engagement of Children in Criminal Activity) Act 2024, which makes it an offence for an adult to either force or encourage children to engage in any criminal activity.

Those found guilty of the new offences may face imprisonment of up to 12 months on summary conviction and up to five years on indictment.

The legislation recognises the life-long impact and harm done to a child by drawing them into criminal activity, and is one of a set of holistic measures being progressed by the Department of Justice and Minister Browne under the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027 to address youth offending.

Under that Strategy, the Department has established an intensive intervention pilot called the Greentown Programme, which is specifically focused on disrupting organised crime groups who lure children into crime, and improving outcomes for children at risk or already engaged in criminal networks.

Minister McEntee recently extended that programme for a further three years so that the learnings for best practice can be formalised and disseminated to the entire network of youth justice initiatives.

Speaking today, Minister McEntee said: “This important legislation will criminalise adults who are ruining young people’s lives and blighting their communities by forcing or enticing them into criminal lifestyles. While offending might start small, it often snowballs into something more serious and suddenly there is no way out for a young person whose life can become plagued by debts, fear and intimidation.

It will be an important tool in the arsenal of Gardaí to disrupt criminal networks and pursue those who use vulnerable young people to keep their own hands clean, complementing the holistic intervention work already underway through the Greentown Programme.

We must pursue those who do the harm, but also work to undo the harm – the Greentown Programme provides intensive wraparound supports and interventions for young people either at risk of or already influenced by criminal networks. It provides intensive supports for the positive development and diversion of the affected children, as well as their family members.

I would like to thank my colleague Minister Browne for his work in developing this legislation and seeing it through the Houses. I look forward to seeing its impact.”

Welcoming the commencement of the Act, Minister Browne said:

“Seeing this legislation over the line has been a key priority for me given its centrality to the Youth Justice Strategy. To really change and reduce youth offending, we need a holistic approach – criminalising those who induce children into criminal activity, creating pro-social opportunities for young people at risk, and intensive interventions for those who are already involved in criminality to improve their long-term outcomes.

The reality is that some children are dealt a losing hand when they have people in their lives – it could be a parent, a cousin, a sibling, a neighbour – who actively exploit them. These people do immeasurable harm to the life of a young person and this legislation recognises that.

Young people may be coerced, forced or enticed by promises of wealth and social status, but what may seem like a quick way to make money or even as something glamourous or cool, very typically turns sour.

A criminal conviction can seriously affect young people’s opportunities to travel abroad, to gain access to education or work, all of which can set people onto worse paths.

This legislation will help to prevent the next generation from being used and abused by criminal gangs, and will contribute to the building of safer, stronger communities.”

This meets objectives contained in both the Programme for Government and the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027.

A key objective in handling youth crime is to try to keep young people out of the criminal justice system as far as possible. The provisions in this legislation limit liability for the offences to adults in order to avoid further consequences for children who are already victims of crime themselves and who may also have been groomed.

The Government is committed to supporting youth justice services in every way possible. In Budget 2024, a further €2.9 million in funding was allocated to youth justice services, increasing the total budget allocation for the youth diversion measures to over €33 million.

This new legislation has been informed by the Greentown Programme, which is being implemented by the University of Limerick in partnership with the Department of Justice and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and was recognised at the 2020 European Crime Prevention Awards. The aim of the Programme is to investigate the involvement of children in criminality and to establish interventions to tackle the problem.

The Criminal Justice (Engagement of Children in Criminal Activity) Act 2024 can be found HERE.

Tipperary Gardaí Investigate Suspected Criminal Damage At Clonmel Site.

Gardaí in Clonmel, South Co. Tipperary are currently investigating an incident of suspected criminal damage which occurred at the HSE Modular Homes Site, Heywood Road, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary between midnight and 1:00am, in the early hours of yesterday, Tuesday, May 21st 2024.

A mobile lighting system was damaged by fire in this last incident. However, this is now the second such incident to take place at this construction site, latter which occurred less than one week ago, on Thursday last; during which a privately contracted security guard, was hospitalised and vehicles extensively damaged.

Gardaí are now investigating whether this second attack on this refugee accommodation centre in Co. Tipperary may be connected to previous attacks which occured on sites in Wicklow, Dublin, Cork and Galway.

The scene has been technically examined, and investigating Gardaí are understood to be currently following a number of lines of enquiry.

Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have observed this incident occurring, or who may have noticed suspicious behaviour in or around this HSE Modular Site, at Upper Heywood, Clonmel, between the hours of 8:30pm on Monday night May 20th and 1:30am on Tuesday morning May 21st, 2024.

Gardaí also are appealing for assistance to any motorists holding recorded “Dash-Camera” footage, who were in the Upper Heywood Road area, Clonmel between these times, to make same available.
Anyone with any other information is asked to contact Clonmel Garda Station Tel: 052-6177640; or email CT.TipperarySouth.CE@garda.ie; OR alternatively to phone the Garda Confidential Line Free-phone 1800 666 111.

Next Tipperary Gardaí Property Marking Event.

On Monday next, May 20th, 2024, Tipperary Gardaí will hold a FREE Property Marking Event at Cloneen Community Centre, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary [from 2:00pm until 4:00pm] and also at Fethard Town Park, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, [from 5:00pm until 8:00pm].

People are invited to bring along any property that they wish to have marked on the day, e.g. trailers, lawn mowers, chainsaws, bicycles and power tools etc, and please ensure that you have your Eircode with you.

Marking tools and equipment with your Eircode makes the latter less attractive to thieves and also helps Gardaí to return same property quickly, should same be lost or stolen.

Tipperary Gardaí look forward to seeing you in attendance at both the above named venues.

Security Guard Hospitalised Following Assault In Clonmel, Co. Tipperary.

Gardaí are investigating after security workers were assaulted and a number of vehicles were extensive damaged by fire overnight, at a site in the area of Heywood Road, on the edge of Clonmel town, South Co. Tipperary.

The area was the subject of plans by the Department of Integration and the OPW to install 82 modular homes for refugees, latter fleeing the war in Ukraine.

The site was part of a parcel of land owned by the HSE and is in the process currently of being transferred to the Office of Public Works OPW.
We understand that it is likely to be late this year before the pre-built homes will start to arrive on the property and possibly early next year before same are ready for occupation.

According to Gardaí, the incident is understood to have happened at around 11:40pm last night, when security personnel, contracted to work at the site, were assaulted by a number of individuals.

One of the security personnel was later hospitalised, while a number of vehicles were extensively damaged.

Gardaí have conducted a technical examination of the scene and are appealing for any witnesses to the incident, including persons with mobile phone or dash cam footage to get in touch with them.

The OPW have confirmed that it is fully aware of this incident and that it has engaged with the contractor, Sisk Ltd, in relation to further site security and also with An Garda Síochána regarding, what it refers to as, public order issues arising at the site.

No arrests have yet been made.