Shoplifting quadruples in Kildare
Photo for illustrative purposes only
Shoplifting in Kildare has almost quadrupled in the last 20 years, according to figures revealed this week by Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, Ireland South MEP.
There were a total of 324 recorded incidents of shoplifting in the Kildare Garda Division in 2003, which grew to 1,341 recorded incidents of shoplifting in Kildare in 2024, an increase of 314 per cent.
Indeed, in just the last 12 months shoplifting incidents increased by seven per cent alone between 2023 and 2024, going from 1,252 to 1,341 between 2023 and 2024.
Amongst the measures Ms Ní Mhurchú is calling for to immediately address shoplifting is for government to introduce the Retail Crime Strategy which was promised in the Programme for Government.
The Ireland South MEP has also called for other measures included in the Programme for Government to be introduced immediately.
The MEP is calling for mandatory prison sentences for anyone caught shoplifting on more than one occasion, and for an update of the Public Order Acts to allow a prolific offender of retail crime to be excluded from a premises for a certain period of time.
She also wants targeted garda operations to tackle retail crime and remove assets from those suspected of organised retail theft, and to make it a specific offence of assaulting a retail worker.
Ms Ní Mhurchú is also calling for the end of the practice of ‘retail defamation’ where someone can sue a retailer for defamation if they are stopped with the bona fide belief that they have stolen something from the shop.
According to one Carlow-based retailer that Ní Mhurchú spoke to, small retailers are fed up with what they see as a revolving door justice system for shoplifters.
“Filing a report with Gardaí is hardly worth it,” said the retailer.
“Gardai are also fed up seeing the same people getting off the hook and their time is being wasted with the same offenders again and again.
“In the last year I have been in court twice.
“My son tried to stop a guy robbing cigarettes and he got a straight box to the jaw, which could have broken it.
“That offender only got three months added to his current sentence.
“I caught a guy robing €90 worth of chocolate from me.
“He was already on a suspended sentence, which was activated but he appealed it to the Circuit court and walked free.
“He was back at my shop the following week, after been warned by the court to stay away” The CSO shoplifting figures indicate a dramatic trend upwards in shoplifting offences across most counties in Ireland."
Some of the biggest jumps between the year 2003 and 2024 occurred in countries like Tipperary, Wexford, Wicklow, Kildare and Limerick.
While the 20 year trend for shoplifting has gone up, counties like Mayo, Donegal, Waterford, Kerry, Clare, and Galway all recorded percentage decreases for the number of recorded shoplifting offences between 2023 and 2024.
Ms Ní Mhurchú attributed this to more focused garda actions of late.
