A local Sergeant has taken to the airwaves to urge peope to report crimes, not just share the story on Facebook.
Laois/Offaly crime prevention officer Graham Kavanagh was speaking to Will Faulkner on Midlands 103, where he stressed the importance of ringing in suspicious activity.
“We cannot encourage people enough – if you see people, or a vehicle passing through your area that you don’t like the look of, you ring it in.”
Forget Facebook and ring
“I see people sharing stuff on Facebook and they’re telling each other about it, that’s great, but you have to tell the guards about it too.”
“We’re not sitting there on Facebook 24/7 to see what you’re posting. We need to know so that we get a chance to go out and stop them. It might deter them from doing something, or they might be wanted for something else. It gives us a chance to catch them.
Sergeant Kavanagh stressed that the best way is to stop crimes is to simply pick the phone and ring the guards.
Will then said that it can be frustrating if you do ring the guards and can’t get through. “I know that and I heard that for a long time when visiting groups,” replied sergeant Kavanagh. “Just be persistent and you will get through,” he said.
“If you see something happening, call 999. It helps us and it helps keep you safe,” he added.
Will then mentioned the possiblity of setting up a local Garda Facebook page. “At least you could take the messages in that way,” he said.
“Again, there would be no-one monitoring the Facebook page. We try to keep in the real world,” said Sergeant Kavanagh.
He added that the Gardaí do use social media for crime prevention messages, but for reporting crimes, it’s always best to ring in.
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