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Crime has continued to affect every aspect of life in many cities. Over The past decade, there are some cities that have had their crime rates double or even triple. This is worrying not only for those living in that city, but also because it paints a bad picture for the city. There is no single investor who would want to invest in a place where security is not guaranteed.

One thing that can be observed when it comes to crime rates in many cities is the fluctuation. There are times when the crime rates go up, and times when they go down. There are a number of cities and countries that have managed to maintain a minimum level when it comes to crime. There are a number of factors used in determining if the crime level of a city is increasing or decreasing.

The first is the number of reported cases, and the second is the number of suspects arrested. Different type of crimes also vary from time. This is because the type of measures put in place may help reduce one type, while not affecting the other. This is why you might find that the number of murders in a place has decreased, but the cases of domestic violence have increased over a certain period.

Dublin has had some worrying statistics in the past. It has been placed as the fourth city in Europe with the highest homicide levels, and Ireland was ranked as the 10th, which is actually a worse record for violent deaths compared to England and Wales.

There has been an increase of 30 percent in burglaries in Dublin over the past one year from 147 to 191. Assaults, bicycle thefts and public order offence have also increased over the past year. This has happened despite the ongoing Garda operation to combat burglaries in Dublin being in force. Operation Acer was set up in March 2012 to provide a more targeted and focused approach in arresting criminals who have committed any burglaries and related offences.

There was also an increase in Bicycle theft across the city. The cases rose from 114 to 168, representing a 47% increase. The biggest increase was the number of cases reported on public order offence. There was a 23 percent increase in assaults causing harm and 11 percent increase in minor assaults.

Dublin is one of the most densely populated cities in Ireland, making it no surprise that it has the highest crime rate. With 789 offences per 10,000 people compared to the national average of 532. It has the highest rate in theft, robberies, fraud offences, and drugs.

Dublin authorities have put in a lot of effort in trying to reduce the crime rate. There is still a lot to be done in order to bring down the numbers, and those in government continue to attempt a resolve.

What is a crisis in Greece is an opportunity for Seamus Fahy 1,700 miles away in Dublin.

Fahy is offering a 15 percent discount for Greeks who want to store cash and valuables at Cork Vaults, where 3,000 deposit boxes are protected underground in Dublin’s city center. He says he’s had about 20 Greek customers in recent months as concern mounted about how long the nation could stay in the euro region.

“If you lived in Athens, and had 200,000 euros, wouldn’t you try to get it out?” asks Fahy, a diamond dealer who opened the vaults in 2013, just off one of the city’s main Georgian-era squares, close to the Irish prime minister’s complex in Dublin.

Fahy may not be the only one benefiting from the woes of Greece, which on Monday imposed capital controls and shuttered banks as it prepares for a referendum that may risk its exit from the euro. The Greek turmoil provides Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny’s centrist coalition fodder in its election showdown within the year with Sinn Fein, Ireland’s version of Greece’s governing party, Syriza.

“Sinn Fein thought that Syriza could be a flagship for changing policies at an EU level,” said Niamh Hardiman, a professor of politics at University College Dublin. “That’s not happening.”

Read the whole article at Bloomberg

The  Independent.ie reported that it is has been claimed that “Phonewatch customers are at risk due to a feature that allows burglars to disable their systems before the alarm can be raised”

The article goes on to say that clever thieves are ripping the alarm systems off the walls when they enter the house. According to one caller on the RTE’s liveline, thieves have up to 30 seconds to rip the alarm system off the wall.

Keeping valuables at home is an open invitation to burglars, so why not keep them in a secure vault. asks Mark Keenan.

A wealthy Dublin-based entrepreneur is heading off to see a hypnotist this week – to help him remember where he stashed a wad of tens of thousands of euro he had hidden in a “safe place” in his house.

Having hidden away several stacks of cash for a rainy day, he recently went to retrieve them and discovered he couldn’t account for that last hiden hole.

Household stash mishaps are becoming far more common among the super rich.

Last year the gardai recovered more than 200 grand concealed in the former home of developer Tom McFeely on Ailesbury Road in Dublin 4 (Mr McFeely has denied it is his). Whoever put it there, had certainly hidden it away, believing it to be safe.

Then there was the case of the Barnardos curtains in highbrow Dublin 6. Charity shop staff discovered thousands of euro sewn into a pair of curtains donated by a resident in the area. The money was returned to the embarrassed owner after the shop issued an appeal through the gardai.

Historically when Gold and Silver Bullion has been purchased in Ireland, the Bullion Dealer has offered to store the physical bullion for the buyer in a vault overseas. No vaults were available in Ireland to securely store large stocks of bullion, hence overseas vaults. These vaults are typically located in countries such as Switzerland, Singapore, US, Germany & Australia. Bullion dealers generally charge a storage fee of 1% of the value of the bullion per annum. This storage fee will be slightly less if you have a large amount of bullion. The downside with this storage option is accessibility and ease of sale.

Another popular method of buying bullion is The Perth Mint Certificate Programme based in Australia. The bullion is stored in a government owned mint and you are issued with a certificate that details owners name and amount of gold that is stored on your behalf. Downside once again, is accessabilty. In addition, market skeptics suggest that the Australian government could confiscate the bullion if severe financial hardship was endured by the Western Australian Government.