Crime and Victimisation 2019

Statistical Significance

All estimates based on sample surveys are subject to error, some of which is measurable. Where an estimate is statistically significantly different from another estimate it means that we can be 95% confident that differences between those two estimates are not due to sampling error.

Note on Tables

The sum of row or column percentages in the tables in this report may not add to 100% due to rounding. Percentage breakdowns exclude cases where the interviewee did not respond.

Questionnaire

The Crime and Victimisation questionnaire consisted of 4 sections relating to:

• The respondent’s individual perceptions about and reactions to crime
• The respondent’s individual experience of being a victim of crime
• The experience of the respondent’s household being a victim of crime
• The experience of farming households being victims of crime, where relevant

For the purpose of the survey, the following nomenclature is used in relation to crime types:

• ‘personal crime’ relates to instances of crimes of theft with violence, theft without violence, physical assault and fraud against the individual
• ‘household crime’ relates to instances of crimes of burglary and vandalism against a household
• ‘vehicle crime’ relates to instances of theft of vehicle (car, motorbike, van or commercial vehicle), theft from vehicle and theft of pedal cycle.
• ‘farm crime’ relates to trespassing, theft of farm vehicle or machinery, theft of livestock and user-specified farm crime types.

A copy of the questionnaire used in this module is available here: 

Crime type definitions

The descriptions provided to respondents were as follows:

Personal crime

Theft with violence: “Did anyone steal, or attempt to steal, an item from you, using force or violence, or a threat of force or violence over the last 12 months?”

Theft without violence: “Did anyone steal, or attempt to steal, an item from you, without using force or violence, over the last 12 months?”

Physical Assault: “Did anyone assault you in the last 12 months?”

Fraud: “Have you personally been a victim of fraud in the past 12 months? (Fraud could include bank debit or credit card fraud, internet fraud, or deception involving an attempt to defraud)”

Household crime

Burglary: “Did anyone enter this home or an outbuilding without permission and steal, or attempt to steal, anything from it in the last 12 months?”

Vandalism: “Did anyone vandalise, or attempt to vandalise this property in the last 12 months?”

Classifications

Age

The survey was only asked of persons aged 18 or over. Age groups were classified as follows:

• 18-29 years old
• 30-44 years old
• 45-59 years old
• 60 years old or above

Region

The regional classifications in this release is based on the NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units) classification used by Eurostat. Until Q4 2017, the NUTS3 regions corresponded to the eight Regional Authorities established under the Local Government Act, 1991 (Regional Authorities) (Establishment) Order, 1993, which came into operation on 1 January 1994 while the NUTS2 regions, which were proposed by Government and agreed by Eurostat in 1999, were groupings of those historic NUTS3 regions.

However, the NUTS3 boundaries were amended on 21^st of November 2016 under Regulation (EC) No. 2066/2016 and have come into force from Q1 2018. The changes resulting from the amendment are that County Louth has moved from the Border to the Mid-East and what was formerly South Tipperary has moved from the South-East to the Mid-West, resulting in the new NUTS2 and NUTS3 regions:

NUTS2 Code

NUTS2 Name

NUTS3 Code

NUTS3 Name

 County 

IE04

Northern & Western

IE041

Border

Donegal

Sligo

Leitrim

Cavan

Monaghan

IE042

West

Galway

Mayo

Roscommon

IE05

Southern

IE051

Mid-West

Clare

Tipperary

Limerick

IE052

South-East

Waterford

Kilkenny

Carlow

Wexford

IE053

South-West

Cork

Kerry

IE06

Eastern & Midland 

IE061

Dublin

Dublin

IE062

Mid-East

Wicklow

Kildare

Meath

Louth

IE063

Midlands

Longford

Westmeath

Offaly

Laois

Deprivation Index

The Pobal Haase-Pratschke Deprivation Index is used to create the underlying sample and is used to analyse the data. The Index uses Census data to measure levels of disadvantage or affluence in a geographical area. More detailed information on the index can be found here: https://www.pobal.ie/research-analysis/

The results are presented by quintiles, five equal-sized groups of households, with the first quintile representing the most disadvantaged areas and the fifth quintile representing the least deprived/most affluent area.

The five quintiles are described below:

First Quintile - Very disadvantaged

Second Quintile - Disadvantaged

Third Quintile - Average

Fourth Quintile - Affluent

Fifth Quintile - Very affluent (least deprived)

Comparison with other crime statistics

The survey results are not directly comparable with administrative crime statistics such as the “Recorded Crime” release which is based on Garda administrative sources. There are fundamental differences in sources, definitions and classification methodology. The administrative sources provide a much more detailed breakdown of offences reported or known to the Gardaí. The CSO survey results provide a more aggregated view of the level of crime, including unreported incidents, together with details of the demographic characteristics of victims.

Acknowledgements

The Central Statistics Office wishes to thank the participating households for their co-operation in agreeing to take part in the survey and for facilitating the collection of the relevant data.

The questions asked in the 2019 Crime and Victimisation were designed with the assistance of a group of key users which included the Central Statistics Office, An Garda Síochána, Department of Justice and the Policing Authority. The CSO is grateful for the contribution of these experts.