Locals near Talbot Street say there needs to be more of a visible Garda presence on the road.
It follows the attack of an American tourist on the street on Wednesday night.
The 50-year-old man remains in hospital.
Residents who live just off Talbot Street say it has been a "no-go area" at night time for months.
They say not only is the area unclean but people are regularly seen drinking and openly taking drugs on the street.
Mary has lived just off Talbot Street all her life and says she regularly wants to tell tourists to be careful:
"They don't know the area and they're walking down here and you just want to say to them don't go down there."
Other locals say the area has been taken over by gangs and they often carry alarms.
One woman said it was upsetting "You never had to do that in Dublin 1 before."
Another added that she thought the area had turned into "a kip" and she often fears being robbed, "You're walking down, holding your bag, making sure you have stuff".
Talbot Street, Dublin. Image: George Carter / Alamy Stock PhotoState Reaction
Pat Marry is a former Detective Inspector. He says Gardaí are well able to tackle crime in the area, but they need better resources.
"They shouldn't be afraid of tackling anything, and the resources should be there to back them up... that if there's an incident or there's something we need, someone's there to help straight away."
In a statement yesterday, Justice Minister Helen McEntee says she wants to see a tough and firm response. She added;
"We have also recently introduced community safety wardens in the area. But the best way of making our streets safer and building stronger, safer communities is having more Gardaí on our streets."
