Children as young as 12 involved in crime in Cork city

Car thefts and burglaries in Bishopstown have spiked in recent months, with break-ins being carried out by children as young as 12, a local meeting has heard.

The issue was raised at the latest meeting of the Bishopstown Community Policing Forum on Tuesday evening.

Crime Prevention Officer Mick O’Connor said “a particular group” ranging in age from 12-18 years old has been travelling the city in recent months, breaking into cars to take valuables, and occasionally taking the vehicles themselves.

The majority of cars which are broken into are unlocked.

“Looking at the narratives of the cases reported, if there were ten cars broken into, safe to say that six or seven of those cars are unlocked.

“We have people who have ring doorbells and we’ve captured these individuals through the cameras.

“These guys are hooded up, and if the wing mirrors of the car are out, more than likely they’re going to take a chance,” said O’Connor.

He said the burglars did not use special implements and rely on the cars being left unlocked.

“Every crime is an opportunity and if you take away that opportunity then the crime won’t be committed,” he said.

He also said there are often valuables left in cars, such as cash, laptops, and visa debit cards.

Spare keys - of the car being broken into or a second car - are also often left in cars, which allows the car itself to be stolen.

O’Connor said this car will then often be used to facilitate other crimes before being abandoned some days later.

He said the most common kind of car stolen are non-European imports. These usually do not have an immobiliser, meaning they can be started with any implement, such as a screwdriver.

He said a steering wheel lock or similar security measure can be enough of an impediment to theft, as immobilisers can be expensive to fit.

When gardaí do arrest those responsible, O’Connor said they are told that the main reason they are committing the thefts is because “it’s like going into a lake, if you keep catching fish, you’re going to keep fishing”.

This article was produced with the support of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme funded by Coimisiún na Meán.