Earlier this month we issued a press release highlighting the number of cash-in-transit robberies that had occurred already this year, the threat these incidents are to public safety and employees in the industry, the concerns that the industry have that many are being perpetrated by the same criminals and therefore, the need for stiffer sentencing.
That press release can be viewed here.
Since that press release has been issued there was a further incident last Saturday, during the day at the Orwell Shopping Centre near Templeogue. A handgun was held at a security man's head forcing the security worker to hand over a cash box he had just collected from a supermarket and leaving shoppers terrified.
These incidents are happening during the day, in public locations and are a serious public risk. As the Irish Security Industry Association's (ISIA) recent press release mentioned, our members fear that these incidents are often being carried out by the same criminals repeatedly. An article in yesterday's Herald has confirmed those fears, highlighting that the two men currently being held in custody are "also suspected of a spate of similar crimes
across counties Dublin, Meath and Cork...and one
of them previously served a lengthy jail sentence after the attempted
armed robbery of a ex-Dublin GAA player. He also served a three-year sentence for a separate cash-in-transit robbery in 2002."
