Pa Daly, Sinn Féin TD for Kerry, is calling on the Department of Justice to support the ‘See Something, Say Something’ text alert scheme.
‘See Something, Say Something’ is an anonymous text alerting system enabling the general public to alert An Garda Síochána of public order concerns.
“The operation has been run successfully in Tralee and Killarney over the last number of years, with plans to launch the service in Listowel, said Teachta Daly.
Scheme’s Remarkable Success Rates
“An operation run in Swords, Co. Dublin has also shown remarkable success with other Dublin constituencies showing interest along with towns in Louth and Kilkenny.
“A significant investment has been made in technology and the results are evident – An Gárda Síochána is pleased with the results including: a 25% reduction in public order offences in Tralee;
450 incident reports from the general public over a five month period alone along with greater cooperation between the Gardaí, the business community and the general public.
Silence Due to Lack of Funding
“The existing services will be suspended due to lack of funding and Listowel cannot go ahead.
“Chambers Ireland has indicated it would support such a scheme if it is rolled out nationally, and we know there is interest from a number of towns to launch it.
“I am calling on Minister McEntee to respond to calls to support the operation and the benefits it brings to the wider community.
“The cost to run the service is minimal compared to the benefits: €2,000 per annum for each of Tralee and Killarney and €1,500 for Listowel,” he said.
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