Increase in arrests for domestic abuse alarms Louth councillors

The increase in arrests for domestic violence in the Dundalk area is something to be alarmed by, those at last week's Joint Policing Committee meeting heard.

Cllr Mark Dearey was responding to the Garda Report that showed 109 arrests for domestic violence were made in the Dundalk area in the three months to the end of February 2019. This is an increase of 24 on the year previously.

Cllr Maria Doyle voiced her concern also regarding the increase, commenting that of the total crime incidents in the report, domestic abuse accounted for 11% of them. She welcomed , however, the inclusion of these figures in the report.

The meeting heard that 203 theft and related offences took place in the three months to the end of February. This was up from 195 a year earlier.

Public order offences were the next highest category, with 141 reported - up from 120 last year. Following this, criminal damage was next highest, at 124 offences - 21 more than the same period last year.

In total, 976 crime incidents were recorded in the three months to the end of February - 16 lower than last year. Reductions were seen in assaults, burglaries and theft from a vehicle.

213 checkpoints took place during the same period, over 1,000 patrols and 356 searches.