35% Rise in Home Break-ins Compared to Last Year

The last two and a half years have brought a lot of changes, one of the biggest being the lockdowns, which meant more time than normal at home. As you can imagine this had an impact on break-ins, with people home almost at the time and an increased Garda presence on the roads; it deterred burglars from their usual activities.

Home intrusions did still happen in 2020 and 2021, but figures were far down on previous years. As 2022 has been a welcome return to normal life in Ireland, no more being limited to your 5km or having a substantial meal to enjoy a pint. It has also meant a more return to normal burglaries taking place across the country.

Since the elimination of Garda measures like roadblocks and street patrols, there has been an increase in burglary gangs using high powered cars to target areas across the country. It wasn’t because burglars feared the virus that burglaries went down, it was the added risk of being caught. According to figures released by the Central Statistics office, there has been a 35% rise in break ins this quarter compared to the same quarter last year. With crime rate on the rise, especially burglaries over the last few years the Gardai came up with a strategy labelled ‘Operation Thor’. Gardai tried to intercept planned burglaries before they happened. In 2015, there were over 18 thousand burglaries reported. By 2021, this figure had dropped to just 6,000 (the pandemic would also have played a huge part).

You’re probably asking yourself which areas were targeted, and do I need to be on high alert? Dublin, Tipperary and Limerick have been the most prevalent areas for home burglaries. Unsurprisingly, Dublin was the number one hit area. Dublin’s leading burglary gang is based in Tallaght, while the group targeting Limerick is based across the border in Tipperary. We do encourage our customers to be extra vigilant, even if you’re not situated in these areas. Just because you are home doesn’t mean your home won’t be targeted. If you have a HomeSecure alarm, set the alarm even if you’re heading out for a short period of time. Burglar gangs usually look for patterns when targeting a home and if they do break in, they will be in and out in a few minutes.

HomeSecure customers’ homes are 8.5 times safer than the nation average. All our customers have a deterrent box saying ‘Monitored alarm’ outside the home, which will make the burglar think twice about gaining entry. If you are not a HomeSecure customer but want to be safe after reading this blog post, you can freephone us for a quote on 1800 844 024. We offer 24/7 protection, 365 days a year.