Birr Gardai appeal for help as homes targetted

Sergeant John Mahon at Birr Garda Station has appealed for help from the public in quelling a rise in local burglaries. The increase in burglaries and appeal for help comes just a week after a similar appeal from Tullamore Gardai, who also raised concerns over a spate of day-time burglaries in the rural areas surrounding the Offaly county town. According to Sergeant Mahon a trend has formed recently in Birr's hinterlands, whereby rural houses are burglared after checking nobody is in between 11am and 3pm. Sergeant Mahon said the trend has seen homeowners get a call to the door from someone with "a bogus bit of an enquiry". If someone is at home, Sergeant Mahon said the would-be burglar moves on to another house, but if not "they take their chances". The Birr Garda added that generally a party of between two and four are involved with these burglaries, and move around the country rather than being from the area. The burglaries that have taken place in Birr recently have seen a rear window forced and houses totally searched, with items not seen as immediately lucrative such as phones and other personal electronic items as well as the more usual jewellery and loose cash taken. "What we're asking is for people to look out for each other," he said this week. He asked residents to keep an eye on neighbouring properties and call their local garda station if they see anything unusual. "We'd be only too delighted to get calls like that," he said. "The best tool we have is the eyes and ears of the local population." Anybody with any information is asked to contact Birr Garda Station at 057 9169710 or any local garda station.