Gardai urge people to report ‘suspicious approaches’

Gardai urge people to report ‘suspicious approaches’

By Brendan Grehan

PEOPLE are often “exaggerating claims” of suspicious approaches to children on social media, according to senior gardai.

Compounding matters, is the fact that a lot of alleged incidents are posted on social media sites, and not reported to gardaí in the first place.

Garda with back to camera

Speaking at a local policing forum in Rossecourt this week, Superintendent Dermot Mann, from Lucan Garda Station, encouraged people to report any suspicious approaches to children to gardai directly so they can investigate the claim.

“Some are not reported to gardai. We often get exaggerated reports of suspicious approaches to children on social media,” said Supt Mann.

“We’d ask people to report incidents to gardai. At the moment, we don’t have concerns that will alarm anyone.”

Senior gardai across South Dublin County, have in the past advised residents that reports of this nature on social media, can spread like wildfire across communities, causing panic and fear.

Some incidents which gardai have investigated and debunked in recent times across the county, include a case of a driver asking kids for directions, or a van driver parked on the road, waiting for a home owner to arrive and let them in so they can carry out work in the house.

Notwithstanding this, gardai encourage residents to report any suspicious activity in communities to their local garda station.

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