THERE has been strong reaction locally after CCTV footage was shared on social media highlighting an incident of public order in Letterkenny last week.

Three men can be seen emerging from a car and attacking another vehicle parked in the Lower Main Street area. The driver of the second car manages to get away from the scene, but only after mounting a footpath and colliding with a third vehicle.

Retired Garda Sergeant Christy Galligan said recent attacks on Letterkenny’s Main Street are extremely worrying.

“The visible policing that we had for some years has been reduced to negligible numbers,” he said.

“Looking at recorded images of a man wielding a large knife in the Market Square, or the attack on a driver and passenger outside a newsagents on Lower Main Street by a gang of thugs shows that the model of policing that has been introduced does not work. Sitting behind a computer is not policing.

“If this trend continues our own main street, like areas of Dublin or London, will become a virtual no go area for visitors and citizens alike.

“Time after time we the public, and those of us who have policed in this state, have seen the reduction of visible frontline policing in towns and cities, unless you live in Dublin, and even there it seems criminals have a free reign..

“This reduction in foot patrols, on a 24 hours basis, has led to a culture of feral groups of youths and adults running amok, who know that there’s very little by way of consequence or punishment for their actions.

“Courts no longer have the capacity to send repeat offenders to prison because of overcrowding and the lack of spaces, and if they do they know those same offenders will be released in a very short period.

“If we want to attract tourism and investment in our towns and cities then we need to be able to show that our Garda force is properly equipped and resourced to stop the anti-social behaviour that we witness all too often.”