Recorded Crime Q2 2021

The number of crime incidents recorded on An Garda Síochána’s PULSE database which were classified as Fraud, deception and related offences increased by more than 40% in the year to Q2 2021 (up by 3,248 incidents, or 40.6%) compared to the previous year. From an examination of the underlying data, the increase has occurred mostly in Q1 and Q2 of 2021 and primarily relates to fraudulent attempts to obtain personal or banking information online or by phone as well as fraudulent use of credit and debit card information. 

The number of crimes recorded in most other crime incident type categories fell in the year to Q2 2021 compared to the previous year, for example in Burglary and related offences (down by 5,349, or 37.2%), Theft and related offences (down by 13,231, or 22.0%) and Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences (down by 444, or 20.7%). There were also fewer crime incidents classified as Attempts/threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences (down by 1,781, or 8.7%), while Damage to property and to the environment fell by 5.8% and Public order and other social code offences dropped by 9.9%. See Table 1.1 and Figure 1.1.

The number of homicide offences recorded in the year to Q2 2021 was lower than in the previous year (down 20, -26.3%), including a decrease of 10 in the combined figure for Murder and Manslaughter incidents. Sexual offences increased by 227 (+7.5%) over the same period.

Users should note when considering crime trends the varying COVID-19 restrictions in place for much of 2020 and 2021 and the likely impact of such restrictions on levels of crime.

A total of 3,778 offences were recorded on PULSE for breaches of COVID-19 regulations in Q2 2021. This was a marked decrease on the 10,438 such offences recorded during Q1 2021 following the introduction of a new system of Fixed Payment Notices (i.e. fines) in respect of breaches of COVID-19 regulations in December 2020. The reduction reflects the general easing of restrictions during Q2 relative to Q1. The figure includes unpaid fines and other offences, but does not include fines which were paid. The offences are not included in the statistical tables in this publication due to difficulties aligning them with the existing statistical classification.

The number of crime incidents recorded by An Garda Síochána during Q2 2021 alone, which were classified as Fraud, deception and related offences, was more than double the figure recorded in Q2 2020. The total of 4,044 fraud incidents recorded in the most recent quarter (i.e. between April and June 2021) is the highest quarterly total for fraud incidents since the CSO began compiling Recorded Crime statistics in 2006.

The number of Sexual offences recorded during Q2 2021 alone was higher by more than a fifth (+22.1%) than for the corresponding period in 2020. The numbers of crime incidents of Attempts/threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences (higher by 6.7%), Burglary and related offences (higher by 5.1%), Theft and related offences (higher by 5.3%) and Damage to property and to the environment (higher by 7.4%) were all higher in Q2 2021 than in the corresponding period in 2020 when the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on crime statistics was first apparent. See Table 1.2 and Figure 1.2.

This section provides additional detail on Group 03 incidents (Attempts/threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences), as users may be interested in the demographic breakdown of victims of this crime group. Note that the number of victims highlighted in this section will not match the number of incidents in Table 1.2 above as there may, in limited circumstances, be incidents where no injured party is recorded.

The overall number of persons recorded as victims of Group 03 incidents (Attempts/threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences) during Q2 2021 was 552 higher (+12.9%) than in the corresponding period in 2020. The numbers of male victims and female victims were both higher (by 14% for males, and 11.7% for females) than a year earlier, and the largest changes were among persons aged under 18, where for males the number of victims was higher by 57.6% and for females the number of victims was higher by 48.8%. See Table 1.3 and Figure 1.3.