Cllr Patrick McGowan speaking at the text alert meeting in the Finn Valley Centre.
A HOUSE in Stranorlar was ransacked just days after residents gathered to discuss the setting up of a neighbourhood watch text alert system.
Community volunteer Jonathan Kelly revealed the incident to a meeting in the Twin Towns where it emerged that over 300 homes have now signed up for the anti-crime scheme.
Details of the Ballybofey and Stranorlar text alert initiative were first unveiled at a meeting of residents on July 17. But in the three weeks since burglars had struck again.
Mr Kelly said the incident, where a house was broken into and a number of items taken, occurred as the owners of the property slept.
Councillor for the area, Patrick McGowan, said the burglary only cemented the need to get the text alert scheme up and running as soon as possible. He was speaking in the Finn Valley Centre where around 50 residents met with members of the An Garda Síochána to discuss the idea.
Cllr McGowan said, “When you hear something like that happening in this area, it proves that we need to get this scheme moving.”
Because of their close proximity to the border, Stranorlar, Ballybofey and surrounding towns and villages have long been viewed as soft targets by travelling criminal gangs.
But Patrick McGowan said residents had had enough.
He said he hoped the new text alert system, which it is hoped will be operational by October, would act as a deterrent to those who see the Twin Towns as an easy touch when it came to carrying out illegal activity.
“A lot of these criminals going around, they are known and they are repeat offenders. They come into an area and spend maybe a week or a month committing crimes,” said Cllr McGowan.
“The gardai have to apprehend but they also have to catch them red handed. They have to have proof and they have to go to court and it is well known that it is just a revolving door where they get back out again.
“Obviously there is no substitute for having gardai on the ground and for having patrol cars on our streets and this is not about replacing that, it is about complimenting it.
“We are having a bit of a lull at the moment but coming back into the dark evenings, a lot of people will be concerned again. This scheme is about organising a way for people to look out for their neighbours because no one in this area should have to be worried in their own homes.
“It is a simple matter of if you see a car going down the road and you think it is acting suspiciously, then you phone the freephone number in Letterkenny which is manned 24 hours per day. Gardai will look into it and if they can’t establish what it is doing, then they will send out a general text and hopefully someone will be able to identify that vehicle.
“It will not replace or do the work of the gardai on the ground but it is a way of helping the gardai and hopefully direct them to where the criminals are. This is a big town and it can be very difficult to find where an individual is at so the more eyes and ears we have out there, the better. It is up to all of us to do our bit and to make this area as unpleasant as possible for criminals,” Cllr McGowan added.
Volunteers will be visiting estates and homes in the Twin Towns area over the coming days in a bid to ensure all residents are signed up to the text alert scheme. Individuals are still being sought though to deliver forms to areas including Sessiaghoneill, CarrickMcGrath, Cappry, Dooish, Welshtown, Drumboe, Ardmccool, The Beeches, Trusk Road and Meenavoy.
If you can help out, contact scheme administrator Pauline McDaid at The Base or telephone 07491 90909.
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