Revealed: Sharpened forks and screwdrivers among items confiscated by gardaí in Tipperary

The humble fork has never looked more menacing.

According to the Tipperary Chief Superintendent Colm O’Sullivan a recent increase in improvised weapons on the streets of Tipperary include improvised implements.

“It can be anything from a knife to a screwdriver to a fork or something else that can be sharpened,” said Chief Supt O’Sullivan.

The Chief Superintendent’s report presented at the June sitting of the Joint Policing Committee shows an 86% increase in possession of firearms and offensive weapons in Tipperary.

That is 41 incidents, up from 22.

The Chief Superintendent says what they are seeing is people carrying weapons while out and about.

And that Tipperary is in line with what gardaí are seeing around the country.

In Tipperary, while searches were down 3%, gardaí conducted over 1,000 searches as of June 1.

“We are seeing them and taking them off the streets,” said Chief Supt O’Sullivan.

Tipperary TD Martin Browne asked who was carrying weapons.

The Chief Superintendent said it was primarily people under 35 years.

He said some people are carrying them for protection and they are not necessarily intended for use.

However, gardaí are stopping and searching and will confiscate them if found.

CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON

Perhaps in support of that, the Chief Superintendent’s report showed that crimes against the person are down 11%.

Crimes against the person include all assaults, murder, threats, harassment and child abuse, neglect and abandonment.

Thurles was the only area to show an increase of 8%.

But that only amounted to an additional five cases.

Nenagh was down 33%, while Tipperary Town was down 4% Clonmel and Cahir were down 10% and 11%, respectively.

ASSAULTS

Similarly, assault was down 6%, with assaults causing harm down 22%.

But minor assaults increased by 4%. Detections of assault were up 72%.

Only Thurles saw a rise in assaults at 22%.

There was no change in Tipperary Town, and Nenagh was down 17%.

Clonmel was down 14% and Cahir 17%.