RESIDENTS of a Limerick suburb have said that that two years is too long to wait for a local Garda station to be opened, claiming that crime in the area is on the increase on a daily and nightly basis.
Castletroy residents have said that they are increasingly concerned about vandalism and crime against their homes, their cars, and their privacy.
Locals have been posting to an online residents association group on Facebook warning neighbours to look out for their properties.
One resident described how she was sleeping when she heard a noise outside and looked out to see a person dressed all in black, with a hoodie pulled up to hide their face, searching through her car.
Others reported spotting a man in similar garb testing the door handles of cars parked along the street to see if any were open.
One resident confronted the intruder, who ran and escaped by jumping over a wall after the resident gave chase.
A concerned local women, who contacted the Limerick Post, said the area is plagued by both serious crime and anti-social behaviour.
“This was a lovely place to live and that’s why people moved here and took big mortgages. But in the last year there has been a huge rise in this kind of crime,” the local resident claimed.
“One woman posted on the (Facebook) page that a friend had left a parcel on her doorstep. When she went out to get it, a thief had riffled through the package, taken what they wanted, and left the rest. She was at home at the time but they have gone so brazen, they don’t care.”
The woman, who asked not to be named, said that locals are also being targeted by younger offenders who dump items in gardens, throw eggs at houses, and bang and kick on doors when people are trying to get small children to sleep or get rest after shift work.
“These are 12 and 13-year-olds. A lot of people don’t want to speak up but there’s no way I’m going to live in fear of a bunch of 12-year-olds. We have to speak up.
“We’re told we’ll have a local Garda station, but not for two years at the earliest. This is a huge area – we need Gardaí on patrol now.”
