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 relationship data in the following tables shows the nature of the relationship between victims and suspected offenders for selected detected offence groups. Please see Background Notes for a description of each relationship category.
The data presented is based on detected crime and only where the relationship between both is known.
The crime category ‘Attempts/Threats to Murder, Assaults, Harassment and Related offences’ may be referred to as ‘Assault & Related offences’ in this section.
The relationship category ‘suspected offender unknown to the victim’ will be referred to as ‘stranger.’
In seven out every ten (71%) of detected Sexual offences in 2022, the suspected offender was known to the victim.
In just over a fifth (21%) of victims of detected Sexual offences in 2022, the suspected offender was a Friend/Acquaintance and was a blood relative in 14% of cases. Current or former intimate partners or spouses accounted for 7% of all suspected offenders for this type of offence. The suspected offender was a stranger to the victim in about three out of every ten (29%) detected offences. See Figure 5.1 and Table 5.1.
| Relationship between victim and suspected offender | |
| Stranger | 29 |
| Known to victim | 71 |
The profile of suspected offenders for male and female victims were broadly similar for a number of relationship types and differed for some others. Examples include:
| X-axis label | Male victims | Female victims |
|---|---|---|
| Current intimate partner/spouse | 0 | 3 |
| Former intimate partner/spouse | 0 | 5 |
| Blood relative | 13 | 14 |
| Other household member | 3 | 3 |
| Friend/acquaintance | 23 | 20 |
| Colleague or work relationship | 1 | 2 |
| Authority or care relationship | 18 | 1 |
| Other suspected offender known to victim | 21 | 20 |
| Suspected offender not known to victim | 23 | 30 |
In two thirds (67%) of detected Assault & Related offences in 2022, the suspected offender was known to the victim.
Friends or acquaintances accounted for 14% of suspected offenders while the share for current and former intimate partners or spouses was 9% and 6% respectively. The share of blood relatives among suspected offenders was 8%. In a third (33%) of detected offences, the suspected offender was a stranger to the victim. See Figure 5.3 and Table 5.1.
| Relationship between victim and suspected offender | |
| Stranger | 33 |
| Known to victim | 67 |
Some key differences exist in the profile of suspected offenders for male and female victims of detected Assault & Related offences. These are as follows:
| X-axis label | Male victims | Female victims |
|---|---|---|
| Current intimate partner/spouse | 2 | 20 |
| Former intimate partner/spouse | 1 | 13 |
| Blood relative | 7 | 10 |
| Other household member | 1 | 2 |
| Friend/acquaintance | 15 | 13 |
| Colleague or work relationship | 2 | 1 |
| Authority or care relationship | 4 | 4 |
| Other suspected offender known to victim | 25 | 19 |
| Suspected offender not known to victim | 43 | 18 |
Blood relatives were the suspected offender for a quarter (24%) of detected Sexual offences committed against victims under 18 years at the time of the incident. This compares to between 2% and 3% or less for all other age groups.
Friends or acquaintances were the reported suspect for a fifth (21%) of all such detected offences against those aged under 18 years compared to 13% for victims aged between 18 and 29 years and 33% for those aged 30 years or more.
The suspected offender was a person in authority or with care responsibilities for a quarter (25%) of detected Sexual offences against persons under 18 years and a fifth (20%) of such offences against persons aged 18-29 years. The corresponding share for victims aged 30 years or more was 8%.
Strangers were the suspected offender for a higher share of detected Sexual offences against persons aged 18-29 at the time of the incident than in other age groups. In nearly half (48%) of such offences against persons in this age group the suspected offender was a stranger followed by over a third (36%) for offences against persons aged 30 years or more. The share was much less (15%) for victims aged under 18 years (15%).
Partners or ex-partners were the reported suspect for a higher share of Sexual offences committed against those aged 30 years or more than in other age groups. Partners or ex-partners were the reported suspect for 17% of such detected offences against persons aged 30 years or more compared with 11% for victims aged 18-29 years and 1% for those under 18 years. See Figure 5.5 and Table 5.2.
| X-axis label | Under 18 | 18-29 | 30 or over | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current intimate partner/spouse | 0 | 3 | 9 | 3 |
| Former intimate partner/spouse | 1 | 8 | 8 | 4 |
| Blood relative | 24 | 3 | 2 | 14 |
| Other household member | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Friend/acquaintance | 21 | 13 | 33 | 21 |
| Colleague or work relationship | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Authority or care relationship | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Other suspected offender known to victim | 25 | 20 | 8 | 21 |
| Suspected offender not known to victim | 15 | 48 | 36 | 29 |
In 2022, friends or acquaintances were the suspected offender for about three out of ten (28%) detected Assault & Related offences against persons under 18 years of age at the time of the offence. This compares with 14% for victims aged 18-29 years and 11% for those aged 30 years or more.
The suspected offender was a Blood Relative for a higher share of these offences against persons under 18 years of age than for other age groups. Blood Relatives were responsible for 12% of such offences against persons under 18 years of compared with 9% for those aged 30 years or more and 5% for those in the 18-29 years age group. Current or ex-partners were responsible for equal shares (17% each) of such detected offences against persons aged 18-29 years and those 30 years or more.
Finally, strangers accounted for about one third of suspected offenders of Assaults & Related offences against persons in the 18-29 years age group (36%) and those 30 years and over (33%) and just under a quarter (23%) of offences against those under 18 years of age. See Figure 5.6 and Table 5.2.
| X-axis label | Under 18 | 18-29 | 30 or over | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current intimate partner/spouse | 1 | 8 | 11 | 9 |
| Former intimate partner/spouse | 1 | 9 | 6 | 6 |
| Blood relative | 12 | 5 | 9 | 8 |
| Other household member | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Friend/acquaintance | 28 | 14 | 11 | 14 |
| Colleague or work relationship | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Authority or care relationship | 0 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Other suspected offender known to victim | 33 | 21 | 21 | 23 |
| Suspected offender not known to victim | 23 | 36 | 33 | 33 |
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