Following the publication of the fifth Review of the Quality of Crime Statistics in October 2023, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has lifted the 'Under Reservation' categorisation around Recorded Crime Statistics. This is possible because An Garda Síochána have introduced a range of quality measures over the last number of years which have resulted in sustained improvement in the quality of the underlying crime data. These changes give a level of assurance to users that they can rely on Recorded Crime Statistics.
For further information see our Lifting of Under Reservation categorisation for Recorded Crime Statistics FAQ page.
The crime incident detection rate is the number of detected incidents divided by the number of recorded incidents.
This chapter presents crime detection rates as follows:
Crime detection rates are presented in this format to allow time for crime investigations by AGS to progress before settling.
This chapter compares initial crime detection rates for 2022 and 2023 and charts how the detection rates for 2022 have changed a year on from the initial measure.
Overall, the initial crime detection rates for 2023 were at or above the initial 2022 rates for more than half of the crime offence groups. However, when the initial detection rates for crimes reported in 2022 were updated a year later, there were more notable increases in detection rates for some offence groups such as Kidnapping & Related offences, Homicide & Related offences, Sexual offences, and Controlled Drugs offences.
The data shows that:
| X-axis label | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| 01 Homicide offences | 74 | 82 |
| 02 Sexual offences | 9 | 8 |
| 03 Attempts/Threats to Murder, Assaults, Harassments & Related offences | 31 | 28 |
| 06 Robbery, Extortion & Hijacking offences | 26 | 23 |
| 07 Burglary & Related offences | 20 | 22 |
| 08 Theft & Related offences | 31 | 31 |
| 09 Fraud, Deception & Related offences | 8 | 8 |
| 10 Controlled Drug offences | 83 | 79 |
| 12 Damage to Property & to the Environment | 20 | 20 |
| 13 Public Order & other Social Code offences | 83 | 82 |
| Table 2.1 Crime incident detection rates1 and percentage point change for crimes reported in 2022 and 2023, classified by crime offence group | |||
| Crime incident detection rate (%) | Percentage point change | ||
| ICCS Offence Group | 2022 Initial 2 | 2023 Initial 3 | |
| 01 Homicide & Related offences | 74 | 82 | 8 |
| 02 Sexual offences | 9 | 8 | -1 |
| 03 Attempts/Threats to Murder, Assaults, Harassments & Related offences | 31 | 28 | -3 |
| 04 Dangerous or Negligent Acts | 86 | 84 | -2 |
| 05 Kidnapping & Related offences | 29 | 33 | 4 |
| 06 Robbery, Extortion & Hijacking offences | 26 | 23 | -3 |
| 07 Burglary & Related offences | 20 | 22 | 2 |
| 08 Theft & Related offences | 31 | 31 | 0 |
| 09 Fraud, Deception & Related offences | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| 10 Controlled Drug offences | 83 | 79 | -4 |
| 11 Weapons & Explosives offences | 71 | 71 | 0 |
| 12 Damage to Property & to the Environment | 20 | 20 | 0 |
| 13 Public Order & Other Social Code offences | 83 | 82 | -1 |
| 15 Offences against Government, Justice Procedures & Organisation of Crime | 61 | 63 | 2 |
| 1 Crime incident detection rate is the number of detected incidents divided by the number of recorded incidents. A detected incident means at least one suspected offender has been sanctioned. | |||
| 2 Measure based on data extracted 8 months following end of reference year, as published in Recorded Crime Detection 2022. | |||
| 3 Measure based on data extracted 8 months following end of reference year, data extracted 2nd September 2024. | |||
The data shows that the detection rate for crimes reported in 2022 increased for 11 out of the 14 crime offence groups in the twelve months to September 2024. The most significant among these were:
Of the crime offence groups where the detection rate did not increase over the year, Dangerous or Negligent Acts (86%) and Public Order & Other Social Code offences (83%) remained the same while the detection rate for Offences against Government, Justice Procedures & Organisation of Crime fell from 61% to 58%. See Table 2.2.
Crime incident detection rates for most crime offence groups, tend to increase over time and so are higher for older reference periods, as more investigations are completed, before settling.
This was the case for crime incidents for most offence groups reported in 2022 and 2023.
Figure 2.2 and Table 2.3 below compares the measured detection rate for incidents reported on a quarterly basis in 2022 and 2023, based on data extracted on 2 September 2024.
In particular:
There were some exceptions however and these included
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