Gardai in Athlone have reported a significant decrease in a number of categories of crime in the last 12 months.
Westmeath Garda Chief Superintendent Fergus Healy outlined to the Westmeath Joint Policing Committee meeting today that the indirect benefit from Covid has been a widespread reduction in criminal activity detected by gardai.
He outlined that incidents of burglary in Athlone decreased by 48% in the last year compared to 2019, while thefts from shops also decreased by 38% in the Athlone Garda district last year compared to two years ago.
Crimes against the person are also down in Athlone - with fifty fewer incidents than 2020 compared to 2019.
However, the Chief Super did outline that there has been an increase in drug offences detected - with thirty-one incidents of people being detected as having drugs for sale and supply last year in Athlone and over one hundred people detected as having possession of drugs for personal use.
