Dramatic increase in thefts from vehicles in the county

Galway Bay fm newsroom:

Theft from vehicles in the county has risen by almost 50 per cent over the past year.

That's according to the latest garda figures which were presented at a meeting of the County Joint Policing Committee today.

Burglaries in the county are also up by 5 per cent in the first 6 months of this year, compared to the same period in 2017.

While theft from shops has reduced, the biggest increase was 43 per cent in the number of thefts from vehicles.

Chief Superintendent of Galway Garda Division, Tom Curley said that one gang from Offaly targeted 20 vehicles in Galway for theft on one night but were arrested.