'The amount of people that leave their cars open is just incredible': Vehicle theft in Cork city up 22%

According to crime statistics for the Cork City Garda Division in the first six months of this year, thefts of vehicles are up 22% on the whole of 2024, with 190 stolen, while thefts from vehicles are down 44%.

There were 1,248 thefts from shops, which are up 5% so far this year on 2024 figures.

Overall, property crime is down 8% on last year, with burglaries down 15%, and thefts from the person down 5%.

Assaults causing harm are down 20%, with public-order offences down 11%, offences relating to public intoxication down 17%, and criminal-damage offences down 18%.

Chief Superintendent Tom Myers said one of the biggest issues facing An Garda Síochána in the city is the unauthorised taking of vehicles.

“Some of the vehicles stolen can be bicycles and e-scooters, but primarily this statistic relates to the theft of cars,” he said.

Of the 190 vehicles taken so far this year, 64 were stolen in the Togher district, which sprawls across Douglas, Carrigaline, Bishopstown, and Ballincollig.

Some 58 vehicles were stolen in the city centre: 55 in the Mayfield area, which also covers Watercourse Rd, The Glen, and Blackpool, and 13 in the Gurranabraher area.

Chief Supt Myers said that gardaí in the city are working hard to reverse the trend around vehicle theft, with Operation Joyrider targeting repeat offenders.

“Some are in custody, and some are before the courts, which brings its own challenges, because some of these people are underage, and the amount of [suitable] detention areas are probably not as high as we would like,” he said.

“We are finding, still, that [of] the amount of cars being stolen and broken into, despite numerous appeals that we have sent out, the amount of people that leave their cars open is just incredible.

“They pull into their driveway, they think their car is safe, close the door, don’t lock it, and it’s just easy pickings,” Chief Supt Myers said.

“We have seen gangs just roam around the city, trying cars in different estates.

“And what car will they try and take? They’ll take the car they can get into. It’s very simple.”

Chief Supt Myers said thefts from shops are up 5% so far this year.

“We’ve had a total of 1,248 thefts from shops reported in the city, primarily in the city centre, where 751 thefts were recorded,” he said.

“In a lot of those cases, we work very closely with security staff in shops around the city, holding a conference with them in the city centre late last year, trying to identify the persistent offenders.

“A lot of those, when charged, the offence itself might be low in cost, maybe €20 in cost, but, still, it’s €20 taken from the premises, which is going to be significant when you multiply over multiple cases.”

He added that the increased use of curfews as a condition of bail was working well as a deterrent for repeat offenders.