Garda drugs unit ‘under-staffed’ as arrests fall locally

The number of drugs arrests in Westmeath during the first three months of this year was down significantly on the same period last year, with Gardai currently recruiting staff to "replenish" the drugs unit here.

At the April meeting of the Westmeath Joint Policing Committee, Chief Superintendent Fergus Healy acknowledged it was "a concern" that the number of detections for drugs offences had fallen in early 2022, compared with the beginning of 2021.

Figures given at the meeting showed there were just nine arrests for having drugs for sale or supply in Westmeath during the first three months of this year, compared with 28 such arrests in the first quarter of last year. In the Athlone district, arrests for dealing drugs had halved, from 12 in the early months of 2021 to six at the beginning of this year. Arrests for having drugs for personal use were also down across the county - in the Athlone district they dropped from 29 last year to 19 this year. Cllr John Dolan expressed disappointment that arrests for this type of crime were down. "It is disappointing because the amount of drugs out there is not down. We all know that," he said.

Chief Supt Healy told the meeting that a recruitment process was underway to "replenish the staff levels" in the drugs unit.

"That is nearing fruition at the moment. We hope to have new resources put into that unit to give it new life," he said.

He added that there had been a reconfiguration of the drugs unit in order for it to work on a cross-county basis, as opposed to focusing on Athlone and Mullingar separately.

Cllr Dolan asked if Garda in Westmeath were engaging with the Criminal Assets Bureau. "As I've said before, the best way to hit these people is in their pocket," he commented.

Chief Supt Healy replied that CAB was "active" in Westmeath but that he couldn't go into more detail than that.

"We have had some significant arrests of major players in the drugs industry in the county. That's testament to the people working in the drugs unit, but there is more work to be done," he said.

Detections for most other categories of crime increased so far in 2022 when compared with the start of 2021. The Chief Superintendent said this represented a return to "more normal figures" for crime in the county given that a lockdown was in place during the opening months of last year.

There were 29 detections for burglaries in the Athlone district between January and March this year, up by six on last year, while crimes against the person in this district were up significantly, from 39 early last year to 66 this year.