Gardaí Report Spike In Clare Drugs Offences

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There’s been a significant jump in the number of drugs offences recorded by Clare Gardaí in the first three months of this year.
Gardaí have attributed the rise to an increase in the number of officers in the county’s drugs unit.

In the first three months of last year, twelve people were arrested on suspicion of possessing drugs for sale or supply.
This year, that figure has doubled to 24.
There’s also been a major jump in the number of people arrested for possession of drugs, up by nearly 80% to 58.
The change has come in the wake of a doubling of personnel in the Clare Garda Division drugs unit, and this increase of detections has been welcomed at this afternoon’s meeting of the county’s Joint Policing Committee in Ennis.
At that same meeting, Ennis Superintendent Brendan McDonagh also revealed that a public information campaign on securing cars has been key in a drop in the number of thefts from cars, down by more than half to 18.
Previously, it had been found that up to 60% of cars in estates in Ennis were being left unlocked overnight.
And at a time of significant focus on the way in which drink driving has been policed, the meeting has also been told of a significant increase in the number of drink-driving and drug-driving detections.
These have jumped from 20 to 38, while in the Kilrush District alone the number went from 1 to 9.
Supt. McDonagh stated that a new breathalyser, allowing Gardaí to detect drug-driving at the roadside, has been a significant factor in this and he estimated that a quarter of the arrests were for substances other than alcohol.