Speaking in advance of the County Cavan Joint Policing Committee Public Meeting to be held on Monday 26th November 2018 from 7-9pm in the Slieve Russel Hotel, Cllr. John Paul Feeley, Chairperson of the Joint Policing Committee has called on anyone with an interest in policing, crime prevention and related issued to attend and avail of this ideal opportunity for public engagement with An Garda Síochána.
‘Annually the Joint Policing Committee must organise a formal public meeting. This year we decided to hold a total of three meetings, the first two were in Ballyjamesduff and Cootehill and were styled as Public Information Meetings. We had found in previous years that holding only one meeting for the entire county limited attendance and public engagement. These two meeting were extremely well attended and those who attended used the events in a constructive manner’
There is a cross over in terms of items dealt with at all three meetings in that there will be a presentation on the Property Marking Machine and Crime Prevention. There will also be an opportunity for Consultation for the Cavan & Monaghan Policing Plan 2019 and to ask question of senior Garda officers in the Cavan/Monaghan.
‘The holding of a total of three meetings has placed an additional drain of the scare resources of the County Council and local Gardaí. I acknowledge the cooperation of Chief Superintendent O’Reilly in this matter and the enthusiasm of the officers who attended and the great work of Grainne Boyle of Cavan County Council in organising the meetings. I strongly believe it has been a valuable exercise for the Council, the Gardaí and those communities represented.’
One of the major initiatives of the Joint Policing Committee was the purchase of a Property Marking Machine. This has already been made available to some communities in the County and the earlier meeting have resulted in greater understanding of and interest in the machine and the idea of marking property with an Eircode.
“Every measure we can take to make live more difficult for the criminal and discourage crime and where it does arise assist the Gardaí in tracing stolen goods is to be encouraged. The property marking machine is one such measure, it is simple, cheap and effective. It and taking the advice of the Garda Crime Prevention Officer who will speak on the night all make communities less attractive to criminals.’
Concluding, Councillor Feeley encourage as many people as possible to attend.