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International comparison:
For more information on this release:
E-mail: crime@cso.ie Sam Scriven (+353) 21 453 5276
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-6194
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Garda Recorded Crime Statistics

2010 - 2014

Percentage change in recorded offences, 2013 to 2014 and 2010 to 2014
 Recorded percentage change
ICCS offence group2013-20142010-2014
01Homicide offences-4-10
02Sexual offences+3-18
03Attempts or threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences+5-17
04Dangerous or negligent acts+11+33
05Kidnapping and related offences+2-5
06Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences-5-18
07Burglary and related offences+5+6
08Theft and related offences-1+1
09Fraud, deception and related offences+8-7
10Controlled drug offences+4-20
11Weapons and explosives offences-10-40
12Damage to property and to the environment-5-30
13Public order and other social code offences-10-41
14Road and traffic offences (NEC)-3-43
15Offences against Government, justice procedures and organisation of crime+7-13
16Offences not elsewhere classified-3-24

Falls in recorded offences across most crime groups in period 2010-14, drop in detection rate in some groups

GCRS 2010-2014 FIG1
go to full release

This release provides an overview of recorded crime, as well as detections and outcomes of criminal proceedings for crimes reported to An Garda Siochana during 2014, based on administrative data received in 2016. The number of crimes recorded in 2014 in most Irish Crime Classification System (ICCS) groups had fallen compared with 2010, and half had fallen compared with 2013.

Compared with 2010 Group 04 Dangerous or negligent acts offences, comprising mostly Speeding and Dangerous Driving offences showed the highest increase (up 33%), however several groups including Group 10 Controlled drug offences, Group 11 Weapons and explosives offences, Group 12 Damage to property and the environment, and Group 13 Public order and other social code offences had decreased by more than 20% relative to 2010. Other serious crime groups such as Homicide offences (-10%) and Sexual offences (-18%) had also decreased, while there were increases in Group 07 Burglary and related offences (+6%) and Group 08 Theft and related offences (+1%).

The proportion of recorded crimes which are detected varies considerably from group to group depending on the type of crime, see Table 1. The detection rate for Group 01 Homicide offences in 2014 was 79%, down 6% on offences reported in 2013. Detection rates for Group 07 Burglary and related offences (18%), Group 09 Fraud, deception and related offences (38%) and Group 02 Sexual offences (47%) in 2014 were also lower when compared with previous years. Detection rates for certain high volume crime types such as Group 08 Theft and related offences, Group 12 Damage to property and related offences and Group 13 Public order and other social code offences were unchanged from 2013 figures at 33%, 22% and 93% respectively.  

The CSO resumed the publication of Recorded Crime Statistics in June 2015, following a comprehensive review of the quality of Garda Síochana crime data and on foot of the Garda Inspectorate report on Crime Investigation (11th November 2014). The latest CSO review of the quality of PULSE data published on 28th September 2016 (link below).  When interpreting Recorded Crime Statistics the CSO advises that the findings of these reviews should be taken into account.

http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/crimejustice/2016/reviewofcrime.pdf

 

Table 2 provides a full breakdown of the number of crimes recorded and detected by 3-digit ICCS classification for years 2010 to 2014. Table 3 summarises the outcomes of crime offences reported to An Garda Siochana in 2014 providing total figures by 3-digit ICCS classification for the numbers of crimes detected, those with relevant criminal proceedings, as well as the outcomes of commenced criminal proceedings. Table 4 provides a breakdown by age and gender of convictions for crimes reported in 2014. Table 5 provides a regional and divisional breakdown of recorded crimes and detections including a rate for recorded crimes per 100,000 population (except for Groups 01 and 05).

Table 1 Detection rates by ICCS group, 2010-2014
          %
ICCS offence group Detection Rate
           
  2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
           
01Homicide offences83 88 828579
         
02Sexual offences65 63 595447
         
03Attempts/Threats to murder, assaults, harassments      
  and related offences61 61 606258
         
04Dangerous or negligent acts100 100 100100100
         
05Kidnapping and related offences60 64 616747
         
06Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences53 49 464140
         
07Burglary and related offences25 23 222018
         
08Theft and related offences38 36 353333
         
09Fraud, deception and related offences54 47 444238
         
10Controlled drug offences99 98 989999
         
11Weapons and explosives offences89 88 899091
         
12Damage to property and to the environment23 23 222222
         
13Public order and other social code offences94 94 939393
         
14Road and traffic offences (NEC)99 99 999999
         
15Offences against Government, justice procedures and organistation of crime     
 99 98 999999
        
16Offences not elsewhere classified60 49 504543
           
Table 2 Number of crime incidents recorded and detected, 2010-2014
 
   20102011201220132014
   RecordedDetectedRecordedDetectedRecordedDetectedRecordedDetectedRecordedDetected
             
             
01Homicide offences90756961796584718164
             
 011 Murder/Manslaughter/Infanticide62474841594556435639
 012 Dangerous driving leading to death28282120202028282525
             
   
02 Sexual offences2,4931,6152,0361,2912,0891,2381,9761,0592,044964
             
 021 Rape and sexual assault 2,3241,5241,8711,2051,9491,1711,8509931,894878
 022 Other sexual offences1699116586140671266615086
             
   
03Attempts/Threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences          
 18,21311,03617,15010,39615,6979,48114,3598,92015,1338,775
             
 031 Attempts/Threats to murder374218400214279170347214430237
 032Assaults15,25410,14214,6739,61713,5028,80312,5128,25213,2268,122
 033 Harassment and related offences 2,5856762,0775651,9165081,5004541,477416
             
   
04Dangerous or negligent acts205,455204,609303,975303,262271,074270,144247,022246,148274,071273,278
             
 041 Dangerous or negligent operation of a vehicle204,666204,053303,463302,868270,559269,788246,556245,849273,601272,970
 042 Other dangerous or negligent acts789556512394515356466299470308
             
   
05 Kidnapping and related offences134811157498601248312760
             
 051 False imprisonment, abduction 134811157498601248312760
             
   
06 Robbery, Extortion and Hijacking Offences3,2331,7192,9531,4382,8111,2902,7971,1482,6501,061
             
 061Robbery3,0871,6352,8291,3742,6761,2162,7061,1052,5301,000
 062 Extortion offences2416241238262513228
 063 Hijacking offences1226810052974866309853
             
   
07 Burglary and related offences26,0916,52328,1936,44028,4336,13826,2815,36827,6534,883
             
 071 Burglary26,0916,52328,1936,44028,4336,13826,2815,36827,6534,883
             
   
08 Theft and related offences76,64929,04376,66527,67776,12126,40078,43326,26677,62925,506
             
 081 Theft/Taking of vehicle and related offences11,6202,22410,4752,0858,4791,5477,3601,2617,7631,346
 082 Theft (not vehicle)63,48525,28064,67024,08066,05123,26869,46923,40568,47622,782
 083 Handling stolen property1,5441,5391,5201,5121,5911,5851,6041,6001,3901,378
             
   
09 Fraud, deception and related offences5,5653,0065,5702,6375,7792,5584,7952,0365,1551,951
             
 091Fraud, forgery and false instrument offences 4,7432,5284,9382,2635,1112,2344,3961,8194,5591,697
 092 Other fraud1541321321231281101057811576
 093 Counterfeiting currency and related offences666344494246538212288135481178
 094 Corruption22652264--
             
   
10Controlled drug offences19,79819,51917,57317,27716,38216,12215,32615,12715,87215,680
             
 101Importation/Manufacture of drugs561554619609543536435421374368
 102Possession of drugs18,48818,22816,42516,14415,25715,01214,40214,22514,81914,636
 103Other drug offences749737529524582574489481679676
             
             
11Weapons and explosives offences4,1163,6763,4843,0713,0422,6932,7412,4642,4772,247
             
 111Explosives, chemical weapons offences41248018903159185016
 112Firearms offences586427447320389256355223333223
 113Offensive weapons offences (NEC)3,0292,9672,6152,5372,2962,2442,1812,1321,9811,939
 114Fireworks offences4602583421962671621469111369
             
   
12Damage to property and to the environment38,8249,01135,1587,97532,1517,02228,7096,43227,3436,028
             
 121Criminal damage38,5878,88734,9267,88131,8636,94128,4926,36027,0955,943
 122Environmental damage23712423294288812177224885
             
   
13Public order and other social code offences54,85851,55948,96345,94843,79840,91336,40134,00032,61230,258
             
 131Disorderly conduct47,30246,04442,08241,02337,32836,31430,81629,98026,80325,961
 132Trespass offences3,8062,6063,5592,2563,3231,9772,9421,8302,8151,695
 133Liquor licensing offences2,7662,1782,3141,8291,9021,5711,3781,1421,2721,085
 134Prostitution offences184165218202142122119106129116
 135Regulated Betting/Money, collection/trading offences423316297253297256320267291255
 136Social code offences (NEC)3772504933858066738266751,3021,146
             
   
14Road and traffic offences (NEC)259,893256,875217,208214,616195,169193,348153,212151,681149,247148,072
             
 141Driving licence/Insurance offences24,63824,49120,40920,27317,84017,69214,53914,47314,46414,406
 142Tax/Registration offences67,35167,19062,18562,08856,69056,64938,72838,70132,44832,427
 143Roadworthiness/Regulatory offences157,791156,487124,305123,391112,439111,82091,97991,48295,39895,018
 144Road transport/Public service vehicles offences10,1138,70710,3098,8648,2007,1877,9667,0256,9376,221
             
   
15Offences against Government, justice procedures and organisation of crime          
 11,20111,03610,0229,8369,4359,3139,1679,0669,7739,659
             
 151Offences against Government and its agents336256448342280214278223326257
 152Organisation of crime and conspiracy to commit crime18162218654242
 153Perverting the course of justice995689471006462345437
 154Offences while in custody and related offences485455362336273260167159158148
 155Breach of justice/court order10,26310,2539,1019,0938,7768,7708,6568,6489,2319,215
             
             
16Offences not elsewhere classified3,4752,0902,9901,4583,0601,5382,7241,2312,6411,127
             
 161Importation/Control/Welfare of animals offences 2,0697902,1717192,1036602,0816492,131676
 162Fisheries/Maritime offences 26252824282735312222
 163Use of data, electronic counterfeit and broadcasting6930441551184816306
 164Miscellaneous offences1,3111,245747700878833560535458423
             
Table 3 Number of crime incidents recorded, detected, with relevant proceedings and court outcomes, 2014
           
ICCS offence group  WithCourt  Pending 
   relevantproceedings  (incl. appeals Non-
    RecordedDetectedproceedingscommencedConviction1allowed)conviction
           
           
01Homicide offences8164555520305
        
 011Murder/Manslaughter/Infanticide563932327223
 012Dangerous driving leading to death252523231382
        
02Sexual offences2,0449644033958628920
        
 021Rape and sexual assault 1,8948783463388023919
 022Other sexual offences1508657576501
        
03Attempts/Threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences       
 15,1338,7754,0984,0001,2169551,829
        
 031Attempts/Threats to murder430237108106433726
 032Assaults13,2268,1223,8443,7531,1368531,764
 033Harassment and related offences 1,477416146141376539
        
04Dangerous or negligent acts274,071273,27846,18841,53813,63499426,910
        
 041Dangerous or negligent operation of a vehicle273,601272,97046,05241,40613,59392826,885
 042Other dangerous or negligent acts470308136132416625
        
05Kidnapping and related offences127601817494
        
 051False imprisonment, abduction 127601817494
        
06Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences2,6501,06172772240224278
        
 061Robbery2,5301,00069168738123373
 062Extortion offences228332-1
 063Hijacking offences985333321994
        
07Burglary and related offences27,6534,8833,3693,2942,002620672
        
 071Burglary27,6534,8833,3693,2942,002620672
        
08Theft and related offences77,62925,50615,01614,7087,5572,4994,652
        
 081Theft/Taking of vehicle and related offences7,7631,346853830445122263
 082Theft (not vehicle)68,47622,78213,27213,0096,7142,2144,081
 083Handling stolen property1,3901,378891869398163308
        
09Fraud, deception and related offences5,1551,9511,1821,161533293335
        
 091Fraud, forgery and false instrument offences 4,5591,6971,0651,045461276308
 092Other fraud115761515843
 093Counterfeiting currency and related offences481178102101641324
 094Corruption-------
        
10Controlled drug offences15,87215,68010,85910,4453,6261,2635,556
        
 101Importation/Manufacture of drugs3743682782771456171
 102Possession of drugs14,81914,63610,0819,6833,2691,1425,272
 103Other drug offences67967650048521260213
          
11 Weapons and explosives offences2,4772,2471,4801,444727231486
        
 111Explosives, chemical weapons offences501688611
 112Firearms offences333223127125543338
 113Offensive weapons offences (NEC)1,9811,9391,3371,303664196443
 114Fireworks offences1136988314
          
12Damage to property and to the environment27,3436,0283,0662,9761,2465471,183
        
 121Criminal damage27,0955,9433,0362,9461,2295461,171
 122Environmental damage24885303017112
        
13Public order and other social code offences32,61230,25814,71014,2437,6351,3415,267
        
 131Disorderly conduct26,80325,96112,94112,5196,8371,1414,541
 132Trespass offences2,8151,695967941422119400
 133Liquor licensing offences1,2721,0853693641826176
 134Prostitution offences12911636348620
 135Regulated betting/Money, collection/trading offences291255949339846
 136Social code offences (NEC)1,3021,1463032921476184
        
14Road and traffic offences (NEC)149,247148,07264,79362,50424,5611,22336,720
        
 141Driving licence/insurance offences14,46414,40610,80610,4823,7702516,461
 142Tax/Registration offences32,44832,42711,09910,3243,937226,365
 143Roadworthiness/Regulatory offences95,39895,01841,46140,29416,41991622,959
 144Road transport/public service vehicles offences6,9376,2211,4271,40443534935
        
15Offences against Government, justice procedures and organisation of crime       
 9,7739,6594,8704,7762,4425921,742
        
 151Offences against Government and its agents326257149139301792
 152Organisation of crime and conspiracy to commit crime42-----
 153Perverting the course of justice543711119-2
 154Offences while in custody and related offences158148767055312
 155Breach of justice/court order9,2319,2154,6344,5562,3485721,636
        
16Offences not elsewhere classified2,6411,12735635214754151
       
161Importation/Control/Welfare of animals offences 2,13167625425010932109
162Fisheries/Maritime offences 2222887-1
163Use of data, electronic counterfeit and broadcasting306332-1
164Miscellaneous offences4584239191292240
           
1 Includes Conviction, Proved and order made without conviction, Probation of Offenders Act.
Table 4 Persons convicted1 of relevant offences for crime incidents recorded in 2014
                       
   TotalMale TotalFemaleTotalAll Persons
   MalesUnder 1818-2425-4445+Unavailable FemalesUnder 1818-2425-4445+Unavailable PersonsUnder 1818-2425-4445+Unavailable
                      
01 Homicide offences19-5122- 3--3-- 22-5152-
02Sexual offences86262553- ------ 86262553-
03 Attempts/Threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences1,14982398531138- 14412377718- 1,29394435608156-
04 Dangerous or negligent acts10,259501,4753,6141,5053,615 3,24312008193771,846 13,502511,6754,4331,8825,461
05Kidnapping and related offences4-13-- 1-1--- 5-23--
06 Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences4509614719710- 21-1011-- 4719615720810-
07Burglary and related offences2,0582086081,1191221 129130908- 2,1872096381,2091301
08Theft and related offences5,6484271,6293,1064797 2,360454731,6032381 8,0084722,1024,7097178
09Fraud, deception and related offences496214125499- 832204813- 5794161302112-
10 Controlled drug offences3,446631,3271,874182- 269-7816823- 3,715631,4052,042205-
11 Weapons and explosives offences69541279327471 4229283- 73743288355501
12Damage to property and to the environment1,277229426515107- 673183610- 1,344232444551117-
13 Public order and other social code offences7,1032392,3273,5111,0233 92918196556159- 8,0322572,5234,0671,1823
14 Road and traffic offences (NEC)18,747964,5849,5072,8801,680 5,71439343,178729870 24,461995,51812,6853,6092,550
15Offences against Government, justice procedures and organisation of crime2,039476331,1232324 40419128329- 2,443487241,4062614
16Offences not elsewhere classified126-326232- 28--1810- 154-328042-
                       
                       
1 Includes Conviction, Proved and order made without conviction, Probation of Offenders Act.
Table 5 Crime incidents recorded by Garda Division, incidents per 100,000 population, incidents detected and detection rate, 2014
Group 02 Sexual OffencesRecorded Per 100,000 population Detected Detection rate (%)
         
State 2,044 44.3 964 47.2
         
Northern Region213 40.9 110 51.6
 Cavan/Monaghan45 33.5 31 68.9
 Donegal80 49.4 34 42.5
 Sligo/Leitrim35 35.6 20 57.1
 Louth53 41.9 25 47.2
         
Western Region212 35.9 101 47.6
 Clare46 41.9 33 71.7
 Mayo35 26.5 13 37.1
 Galway92 36.5 43 46.7
 Roscommon/Longford39 40.4 12 30.8
         
Southern Region333 38.2 166 49.8
 Cork City106 46.1 45 42.5
 Cork North59 37.8 30 50.8
 Cork West39 27.6 23 59.0
 Kerry59 41.5 28 47.5
 Limerick70 34.7 40 57.1
         
Eastern Region348 44.9 181 52.0
 Laois/Offaly59 38.7 40 67.8
 Meath75 41.2 27 36.0
 Wicklow66 47.9 33 50.0
 Westmeath30 32.6 21 70.0
 Kildare118 55.9 60 50.8
         
South Eastern Region280 48.9 145 51.8
 Tipperary63 39.6 33 52.4
 Wexford69 47.2 28 40.6
 Kilkenny/Carlow76 51.2 35 46.1
 Waterford72 60.5 49 68.1
         
Dublin Metropolitan Region658 51.5 261 39.7
 South Central DMR84 67.3 40 47.6
 North Central DMR75 86.1 22 29.3
 Northern DMR208 62.5 79 38.0
 Southern DMR88 36.5 44 50.0
 Eastern DMR63 32.9 19 30.2
 Western DMR140 46.5 57 40.7
         
Group 03 Attempts or Threats to Murder, Assaults, Harassment and Related OffencesRecorded Per 100,000 population Detected Detection rate (%)
         
State 15,133 328.3 8,775 58.0
         
Northern Region2,048 393.1 1,342 65.5
 Cavan/Monaghan484 360.3 442 91.3
 Donegal739 456.4 462 62.5
 Sligo/Leitrim306 311.1 152 49.7
 Louth519 410.5 286 55.1
         
Western Region1,804 305.6 1,087 60.3
 Clare303 276.1 268 88.4
 Mayo378 286.7 180 47.6
 Galway739 293.2 436 59.0
 Roscommon/Longford384 397.4 203 52.9
         
Southern Region2,850 327.1 1,940 68.1
 Cork City1,037 451.0 615 59.3
 Cork North422 270.5 289 68.5
 Cork West320 226.5 219 68.4
 Kerry426 299.5 338 79.3
 Limerick645 319.4 479 74.3
         
Eastern Region2,216 285.8 1,381 62.3
 Laois/Offaly491 322.0 399 81.3
 Meath413 226.8 248 60.0
 Wicklow481 349.1 267 55.5
 Westmeath299 324.6 193 64.5
 Kildare532 252.2 274 51.5
         
South Eastern Region1,689 294.9 1,161 68.7
 Tipperary377 237.0 304 80.6
 Wexford371 253.7 229 61.7
 Kilkenny/Carlow454 306.1 297 65.4
 Waterford487 409.2 331 68.0
         
Dublin Metropolitan Region4,526 353.9 1,864 41.2
 South Central DMR932 746.4 372 39.9
 North Central DMR797 915.1 339 42.5
 Northern DMR809 243.1 287 35.5
 Southern DMR716 296.8 329 45.9
 Eastern DMR422 220.2 171 40.5
 Western DMR852 282.9 366 43.0
         
Group 04 Dangerous or Negligent ActsRecorded Per 100,000 population Detected Detection rate (%)
         
State 274,071 5,945.7 273,278 99.7
         
Northern Region29,930 5,744.2 29,736 99.4
 Cavan/Monaghan8,929 6,646.5 8,893 99.6
 Donegal6,362 3,929.2 6,270 98.6
 Sligo/Leitrim8,147 8,282.9 8,130 99.8
 Louth6,492 5,134.9 6,443 99.2
         
Western Region37,809 6,404.9 37,739 99.8
 Clare7,648 6,968.6 7,635 99.8
 Mayo4,185 3,174.0 4,170 99.6
 Galway18,401 7,299.7 18,372 99.8
 Roscommon/Longford7,575 7,838.9 7,562 99.8
         
Southern Region53,767 6,170.4 53,643 99.8
 Cork City9,903 4,307.4 9,876 99.7
 Cork North12,343 7,912.9 12,320 99.8
 Cork West6,422 4,545.2 6,404 99.7
 Kerry6,597 4,638.7 6,578 99.7
 Limerick18,502 9,160.8 18,465 99.8
         
Eastern Region52,208 6,733.2 52,115 99.8
 Laois/Offaly7,956 5,217.9 7,936 99.7
 Meath6,997 3,843.2 6,986 99.8
 Wicklow9,038 6,559.0 9,019 99.8
 Westmeath10,455 11,351.8 10,443 99.9
 Kildare17,762 8,419.9 17,731 99.8
         
South Eastern Region39,810 6,951.8 39,758 99.9
 Tipperary10,104 6,352.3 10,087 99.8
 Wexford9,431 6,448.3 9,417 99.9
 Kilkenny/Carlow11,947 8,054.8 11,942 100.0
 Waterford8,328 6,997.2 8,312 99.8
         
Dublin Metropolitan Region60,547 4,734.6 60,287 99.6
 South Central DMR9,405 7,532.3 9,380 99.7
 North Central DMR4,295 4,931.6 4,268 99.4
 Northern DMR12,397 3,725.7 12,341 99.5
 Southern DMR4,345 1,800.9 4,310 99.2
 Eastern DMR9,659 5,039.8 9,639 99.8
 Western DMR20,446 6,788.3 20,349 99.5
         
Group 06 Robbery, Extortion and Hijacking OffencesRecorded Per 100,000 population Detected Detection rate (%)
         
State 2,650 57.5 1,061 40.0
         
Northern Region104 20.0 41 39.4
 Cavan/Monaghan12 8.9 8 66.7
 Donegal19 11.7 8 42.1
 Sligo/Leitrim8 8.1 2 25.0
 Louth65 51.4 23 35.4
         
Western Region90 15.2 58 64.4
 Clare30 27.3 25 83.3
 Mayo15 11.4 6 40.0
 Galway34 13.5 20 58.8
 Roscommon/Longford11 11.4 7 63.6
         
Southern Region223 25.6 138 61.9
 Cork City124 53.9 75 60.5
 Cork North9 5.8 7 77.8
 Cork West2 1.4 1 50.0
 Kerry9 6.3 8 88.9
 Limerick79 39.1 47 59.5
         
Eastern Region214 27.6 110 51.4
 Laois/Offaly26 17.1 15 57.7
 Meath55 30.2 26 47.3
 Wicklow44 31.9 26 59.1
 Westmeath32 34.7 19 59.4
 Kildare57 27.0 24 42.1
         
South Eastern Region128 22.4 80 62.5
 Tipperary21 13.2 16 76.2
 Wexford40 27.3 23 57.5
 Kilkenny/Carlow31 20.9 19 61.3
 Waterford36 30.2 22 61.1
         
Dublin Metropolitan Region1,891 147.9 634 33.5
 South Central DMR395 316.3 163 41.3
 North Central DMR342 392.7 127 37.1
 Northern DMR268 80.5 79 29.5
 Southern DMR315 130.6 90 28.6
 Eastern DMR123 64.2 55 44.7
 Western DMR448 148.7 120 26.8
         
Group 07 Burglary and Related OffencesRecorded Per 100,000 population Detected Detection rate (%)
         
State 27,653 599.9 4,883 17.7
         
Northern Region2,200 422.2 425 19.3
 Cavan/Monaghan354 263.5 107 30.2
 Donegal406 250.7 65 16.0
 Sligo/Leitrim370 376.2 70 18.9
 Louth1,070 846.3 183 17.1
         
Western Region2,091 354.2 438 20.9
 Clare353 321.6 87 24.6
 Mayo323 245.0 50 15.5
 Galway992 393.5 209 21.1
 Roscommon/Longford423 437.7 92 21.7
         
Southern Region2,772 318.1 777 28.0
 Cork City697 303.2 235 33.7
 Cork North352 225.7 63 17.9
 Cork West270 191.1 60 22.2
 Kerry360 253.1 122 33.9
 Limerick1,093 541.2 297 27.2
         
Eastern Region4,970 641.0 712 14.3
 Laois/Offaly1,085 711.6 216 19.9
 Meath951 522.4 113 11.9
 Wicklow926 672.0 105 11.3
 Westmeath578 627.6 146 25.3
 Kildare1,430 677.9 132 9.2
         
South Eastern Region3,402 594.1 672 19.8
 Tipperary637 400.5 166 26.1
 Wexford1,001 684.4 129 12.9
 Kilkenny/Carlow927 625.0 180 19.4
 Waterford837 703.2 197 23.5
         
Dublin Metropolitan Region12,218 955.4 1,859 15.2
 South Central DMR1,766 1,414.4 476 27.0
 North Central DMR1,112 1,276.8 342 30.8
 Northern DMR2,521 757.6 269 10.7
 Southern DMR2,491 1,032.5 286 11.5
 Eastern DMR1,861 971.0 205 11.0
 Western DMR2,467 819.1 281 11.4
         
Group 08 Theft and Related OffencesRecorded Per 100,000 population Detected Detection rate (%)
         
State 77,629 1,684.1 25,506 32.9
         
Northern Region5,032 965.7 1,826 36.3
 Cavan/Monaghan1,100 818.8 498 45.3
 Donegal1,011 624.4 426 42.1
 Sligo/Leitrim796 809.3 307 38.6
 Louth2,125 1,680.8 595 28.0
         
Western Region4,753 805.2 1,904 40.1
 Clare940 856.5 453 48.2
 Mayo842 638.6 320 38.0
 Galway2,263 897.7 875 38.7
 Roscommon/Longford708 732.7 256 36.2
         
Southern Region11,001 1,262.5 5,002 45.5
 Cork City3,792 1,649.4 1,841 48.5
 Cork North1,121 718.7 486 43.4
 Cork West797 564.1 334 41.9
 Kerry1,185 833.2 726 61.3
 Limerick4,106 2,033.0 1,615 39.3
         
Eastern Region10,885 1,403.8 3,155 29.0
 Laois/Offaly2,045 1,341.2 626 30.6
 Meath2,442 1,341.3 665 27.2
 Wicklow2,244 1,628.5 622 27.7
 Westmeath1,186 1,287.7 474 40.0
 Kildare2,968 1,406.9 768 25.9
         
South Eastern Region6,759 1,180.3 2,858 42.3
 Tipperary1,430 899.0 659 46.1
 Wexford1,631 1,115.2 590 36.2
 Kilkenny/Carlow1,826 1,231.1 691 37.8
 Waterford1,872 1,572.9 918 49.0
         
Dublin Metropolitan Region39,199 3,065.2 10,761 27.5
 South Central DMR9,390 7,520.3 2,197 23.4
 North Central DMR7,651 8,785.0 3,110 40.6
 Northern DMR6,179 1,857.0 1,527 24.7
 Southern DMR4,652 1,928.1 1,096 23.6
 Eastern DMR3,692 1,926.4 937 25.4
 Western DMR7,635 2,534.9 1,894 24.8
         
Group 09 Fraud, Deception and Related OffencesRecorded Per 100,000 population Detected Detection rate (%)
         
State 5,155 111.8 1,951 37.8
         
Northern Region415 79.6 171 41.2
 Cavan/Monaghan99 73.7 65 65.7
 Donegal93 57.4 29 31.2
 Sligo/Leitrim81 82.4 23 28.4
 Louth142 112.3 54 38.0
         
Western Region569 96.4 274 48.2
 Clare56 51.0 32 57.1
 Mayo85 64.5 33 38.8
 Galway316 125.4 164 51.9
 Roscommon/Longford112 115.9 45 40.2
         
Southern Region719 82.5 374 52.0
 Cork City235 102.2 109 46.4
 Cork North124 79.5 97 78.2
 Cork West89 63.0 47 52.8
 Kerry91 64.0 50 54.9
 Limerick180 89.1 71 39.4
         
Eastern Region692 89.2 230 33.2
 Laois/Offaly125 82.0 42 33.6
 Meath126 69.2 36 28.6
 Wicklow150 108.9 44 29.3
 Westmeath100 108.6 44 44.0
 Kildare191 90.5 64 33.5
         
South Eastern Region369 64.4 171 46.3
 Tipperary90 56.6 56 62.2
 Wexford96 65.6 37 38.5
 Kilkenny/Carlow90 60.7 41 45.6
 Waterford93 78.1 37 39.8
         
Dublin Metropolitan Region2,391 187.0 731 30.6
 South Central DMR505 404.4 141 27.9
 North Central DMR368 422.5 116 31.5
 Northern DMR472 141.8 126 26.7
 Southern DMR280 116.1 81 28.9
 Eastern DMR261 136.2 63 24.1
 Western DMR505 167.7 204 40.4
         
Group 10 Controlled Drug OffencesRecorded Per 100,000 population Detected Detection rate (%)
         
State 15,872 344.3 15,680 98.8
         
Northern Region871 167.2 857 98.4
 Cavan/Monaghan202 150.4 199 98.5
 Donegal211 130.3 205 97.2
 Sligo/Leitrim173 175.9 171 98.8
 Louth285 225.4 282 98.9
         
Western Region1,330 225.3 1,305 98.1
 Clare403 367.2 400 99.3
 Mayo142 107.7 130 91.5
 Galway572 226.9 567 99.1
 Roscommon/Longford213 220.4 208 97.7
         
Southern Region2,745 315.0 2,731 99.5
 Cork City924 401.9 921 99.7
 Cork North449 287.8 446 99.3
 Cork West266 188.3 264 99.2
 Kerry472 331.9 469 99.4
 Limerick634 313.9 631 99.5
         
Eastern Region2,124 273.9 2,102 99.0
 Laois/Offaly663 434.8 659 99.4
 Meath216 118.6 213 98.6
 Wicklow535 388.3 532 99.4
 Westmeath353 383.3 348 98.6
 Kildare357 169.2 350 98.0
         
South Eastern Region1,664 290.6 1,654 99.4
 Tipperary572 359.6 571 99.8
 Wexford250 170.9 248 99.2
 Kilkenny/Carlow406 273.7 403 99.3
 Waterford436 366.3 432 99.1
         
Dublin Metropolitan Region7,138 558.2 7,031 98.5
 South Central DMR920 736.8 914 99.3
 North Central DMR1,896 2,177.0 1,883 99.3
 Northern DMR1,177 353.7 1,143 97.1
 Southern DMR1,111 460.5 1,088 97.9
 Eastern DMR272 141.9 271 99.6
 Western DMR1,762 585.0 1,732 98.3
         
Group 11 Weapons and Explosive OffencesRecorded Per 100,000 population Detected Detection rate (%)
         
State 2,477 53.7 2,247 90.7
         
Northern Region231 44.3 205 88.7
 Cavan/Monaghan56 41.7 53 94.6
 Donegal42 25.9 37 88.1
 Sligo/Leitrim56 56.9 48 85.7
 Louth77 60.9 67 87.0
         
Western Region176 29.8 163 92.6
 Clare53 48.3 52 98.1
 Mayo27 20.5 23 85.2
 Galway66 26.2 62 93.9
 Roscommon/Longford30 31.0 26 86.7
         
Southern Region433 49.7 406 93.8
 Cork City136 59.2 128 94.1
 Cork North33 21.2 33 100.0
 Cork West19 13.4 18 94.7
 Kerry61 42.9 60 98.4
 Limerick184 91.1 167 90.8
         
Eastern Region278 35.9 250 89.9
 Laois/Offaly56 36.7 51 91.1
 Meath52 28.6 45 86.5
 Wicklow65 47.2 60 92.3
 Westmeath53 57.5 49 92.5
 Kildare52 24.6 45 86.5
         
South Eastern Region229 40.0 215 93.9
 Tipperary59 37.1 55 93.2
 Wexford43 29.4 36 83.7
 Kilkenny/Carlow60 40.5 60 100.0
 Waterford67 56.3 64 95.5
         
Dublin Metropolitan Region1,130 88.4 1,008 89.2
 South Central DMR225 180.2 213 94.7
 North Central DMR214 245.7 204 95.3
 Northern DMR167 50.2 128 76.6
 Southern DMR196 81.2 163 83.2
 Eastern DMR68 35.5 62 91.2
 Western DMR260 86.3 238 91.5
         
Group 12 Damage to Property and to the EnvironmentRecorded Per 100,000 population Detected Detection rate (%)
         
State 27,343 593.2 6,028 22.0
         
Northern Region2,751 528.0 756 27.5
 Cavan/Monaghan516 384.1 236 45.7
 Donegal672 415.0 232 34.5
 Sligo/Leitrim515 523.6 91 17.7
 Louth1,048 828.9 197 18.8
         
Western Region2,149 364.0 621 28.9
 Clare392 357.2 140 35.7
 Mayo462 350.4 100 21.6
 Galway904 358.6 278 30.8
 Roscommon/Longford391 404.6 103 26.3
         
Southern Region4,414 506.6 1,168 26.5
 Cork City1,632 709.8 363 22.2
 Cork North523 335.3 155 29.6
 Cork West386 273.2 140 36.3
 Kerry371 260.9 147 39.6
 Limerick1,502 743.7 363 24.2
         
Eastern Region3,944 508.6 940 23.8
 Laois/Offaly777 509.6 223 28.7
 Meath723 397.1 190 26.3
 Wicklow878 637.2 220 25.1
 Westmeath557 604.8 130 23.3
 Kildare1,009 478.3 177 17.5
         
South Eastern Region2,698 471.1 676 25.1
 Tipperary532 334.5 168 31.6
 Wexford758 518.3 127 16.8
 Kilkenny/Carlow643 433.5 183 28.5
 Waterford765 642.8 198 25.9
         
Dublin Metropolitan Region11,387 890.4 1,867 16.4
 South Central DMR1,433 1,147.7 320 22.3
 North Central DMR1,521 1,746.4 323 21.2
 Northern DMR2,233 671.1 332 14.9
 Southern DMR2,101 870.8 327 15.6
 Eastern DMR1,217 635.0 180 14.8
 Western DMR2,882 956.9 385 13.4
         
Group 13 Public Order and Other Social Code OffencesRecorded Per 100,000 population Detected Detection rate (%)
         
State 32,612 707.5 30,258 92.8
         
Northern Region3,578 686.7 3,313 92.6
 Cavan/Monaghan980 729.5 949 96.8
 Donegal1,174 725.1 1,086 92.5
 Sligo/Leitrim650 660.8 591 90.9
 Louth774 612.2 687 88.8
         
Western Region3,953 669.6 3,720 94.1
 Clare799 728.0 764 95.6
 Mayo775 587.8 713 92.0
 Galway1,910 757.7 1,824 95.5
 Roscommon/Longford469 485.3 419 89.3
         
Southern Region7,720 886.0 7,404 95.9
 Cork City2,637 1,147.0 2,534 96.1
 Cork North940 602.6 914 97.2
 Cork West712 503.9 689 96.8
 Kerry1,522 1,070.2 1,489 97.8
 Limerick1,909 945.2 1,778 93.1
         
Eastern Region3,718 479.5 3,368 90.6
 Laois/Offaly744 487.9 692 93.0
 Meath672 369.1 599 89.1
 Wicklow931 675.6 826 88.7
 Westmeath643 698.2 607 94.4
 Kildare728 345.1 644 88.5
         
South Eastern Region4,096 715.3 3,785 92.4
 Tipperary1,006 632.5 944 93.8
 Wexford613 419.1 504 82.2
 Kilkenny/Carlow1,490 1,004.6 1,414 94.9
 Waterford987 829.3 923 93.5
         
Dublin Metropolitan Region9,547 746.5 8,668 90.8
 South Central DMR2,956 2,367.4 2,753 93.1
 North Central DMR1,803 2,070.2 1,703 94.5
 Northern DMR1,265 380.2 1,083 85.6
 Southern DMR1,184 490.7 1,065 89.9
 Eastern DMR813 424.2 683 84.0
 Western DMR1,526 506.6 1,381 90.5
         
Group 14 Road and Traffic Offences (NEC)Recorded Per 100,000 population Detected Detection rate (%)
         
State 149,247 3,237.7 148,072 99.2
         
Northern Region10,643 2,042.6 10,540 99.0
 Cavan/Monaghan3,112 2,316.5 3,093 99.4
 Donegal3,272 2,020.8 3,221 98.4
 Sligo/Leitrim1,751 1,780.2 1,737 99.2
 Louth2,508 1,983.7 2,489 99.2
         
Western Region20,492 3,471.4 20,367 99.4
 Clare6,540 5,959.0 6,498 99.4
 Mayo1,984 1,504.7 1,973 99.4
 Galway8,882 3,523.5 8,833 99.4
 Roscommon/Longford3,086 3,193.5 3,063 99.3
         
Southern Region36,711 4,213.0 36,301 98.9
 Cork City11,578 5,035.9 11,495 99.3
 Cork North6,742 4,322.2 6,668 98.9
 Cork West4,248 3,006.5 4,181 98.4
 Kerry3,565 2,506.7 3,537 99.2
 Limerick10,578 5,237.4 10,420 98.5
         
Eastern Region18,385 2,371.1 18,264 99.3
 Laois/Offaly3,774 2,475.1 3,752 99.4
 Meath2,504 1,375.4 2,469 98.6
 Wicklow3,867 2,806.3 3,844 99.4
 Westmeath3,422 3,715.5 3,411 99.7
 Kildare4,818 2,283.9 4,788 99.4
         
South Eastern Region15,983 2,791.0 15,806 98.9
 Tipperary3,056 1,921.3 3,018 98.8
 Wexford3,115 2,129.8 3,033 97.4
 Kilkenny/Carlow5,459 3,680.5 5,433 99.5
 Waterford4,353 3,657.4 4,322 99.3
         
Dublin Metropolitan Region47,033 3,677.8 46,794 99.5
 South Central DMR8,775 7,027.7 8,741 99.6
 North Central DMR6,792 7,798.7 6,759 99.5
 Northern DMR8,921 2,681.0 8,857 99.3
 Southern DMR5,892 2,442.1 5,860 99.5
 Eastern DMR5,909 3,083.2 5,894 99.7
 Western DMR10,744 3,567.1 10,683 99.4
         
Group 15 Offences against Government, Justice Procedures and Organisation of CrimeRecorded Per 100,000 population Detected Detection rate (%)
         
State 9,773 212.0 9,659 98.8
         
Northern Region546 104.8 540 98.9
 Cavan/Monaghan138 102.7 137 99.3
 Donegal117 72.3 115 98.3
 Sligo/Leitrim128 130.1 128 100.0
 Louth163 128.9 160 98.2
         
Western Region680 115.2 667 98.1
 Clare205 186.8 200 97.6
 Mayo64 48.5 60 93.8
 Galway298 118.2 297 99.7
 Roscommon/Longford113 116.9 110 97.3
         
Southern Region1,879 215.6 1,851 98.5
 Cork City469 204.0 460 98.1
 Cork North127 81.4 126 99.2
 Cork West109 77.1 109 100.0
 Kerry191 134.3 188 98.4
 Limerick983 486.7 968 98.5
         
Eastern Region1,005 129.6 978 97.3
 Laois/Offaly180 118.1 176 97.8
 Meath186 102.2 181 97.3
 Wicklow248 180.0 235 94.8
 Westmeath177 192.2 175 98.9
 Kildare214 101.4 211 98.6
         
South Eastern Region629 109.8 623 99.0
 Tipperary139 87.4 137 98.6
 Wexford181 123.8 181 100.0
 Kilkenny/Carlow164 110.6 162 98.8
 Waterford145 121.8 143 98.6
         
Dublin Metropolitan Region5,034 393.6 5,000 99.3
 South Central DMR159 127.3 157 98.7
 North Central DMR3,231 3,709.9 3,227 99.9
 Northern DMR341 102.5 329 96.5
 Southern DMR367 152.1 359 97.8
 Eastern DMR275 143.5 274 99.6
 Western DMR661 219.5 654 98.9
         
Group 16 Offences Not Elsewhere ClassifiedRecorded Per 100,000 population Detected Detection rate (%)
         
State 2,641 57.3 1,127 42.7
         
Northern Region305 58.5 108 35.4
 Cavan/Monaghan72 53.6 28 38.9
 Donegal101 62.4 41 40.6
 Sligo/Leitrim89 90.5 24 27.0
 Louth43 34.0 15 34.9
         
Western Region532 90.1 185 34.8
 Clare75 68.3 46 61.3
 Mayo112 84.9 41 36.6
 Galway252 100.0 68 27.0
 Roscommon/Longford93 96.2 30 32.3
         
Southern Region626 71.8 248 39.6
 Cork City124 53.9 67 54.0
 Cork North85 54.5 45 52.9
 Cork West95 67.2 55 57.9
 Kerry49 34.5 27 55.1
 Limerick273 135.2 54 19.8
         
Eastern Region402 51.8 163 40.5
 Laois/Offaly80 52.5 24 30.0
 Meath58 31.9 21 36.2
 Wicklow151 109.6 83 55.0
 Westmeath33 35.8 11 33.3
 Kildare80 37.9 24 30.0
         
South Eastern Region383 66.9 163 42.6
 Tipperary99 62.2 36 36.4
 Wexford127 86.8 53 41.7
 Kilkenny/Carlow82 55.3 39 47.6
 Waterford75 63.0 35 46.7
         
Dublin Metropolitan Region393 30.7 260 66.2
 South Central DMR46 36.8 35 76.1
 North Central DMR62 71.2 56 90.3
 Northern DMR137 41.2 88 64.2
 Southern DMR57 23.6 32 56.1
 Eastern DMR21 11.0 7 33.3
 Western DMR70 23.2 42 60.0
         

Background Notes

Garda Recorded Crime Statistics 2010-2014 is the ninth annual CSO statistical report on crime in Ireland. 

The release is based on administrative data recorded on An Garda Siochana’s PULSE (Police Using Leading Systems Effectively) and FCPS (Fixed Charge Penalty System) systems as extracted in summer 2016, and relates to crime and fixed charge notice offences reported to An Garda Siochana between 01 Jan 2010 and 31 Dec 2014.

The release contains detail on the volume of crime incidents in each group of the Irish Crime Classification System (ICCS). The report contains detail on the number of recorded crime incidents which are recorded as having been detected, those with relevant criminal proceedings and court outcomes, and statistics on the ages and genders of individuals who have been convicted for crimes reported in 2014. 

The current release focuses on crime incidents reported only up until the end of 2014 to allow a reasonable period for investigations to reach conclusion as well as for criminal proceedings to be initiated and reach conclusion. All such statistics are provisional and will change as more incidents and court proceedings reach conclusion.

Regular up-to-date statistics on recorded crime offences only is provided in the CSO’s quarterly Recorded Crime release.

Information in this release refers only to crime incidents known to An Garda Síochána and recorded as such. Not all crimes are reported to An Garda Síochána. The CSO provides additional information on estimating non-recorded crime through its Crime and Victimisation surveys.

Technical notes

Recorded Offences

Offences reported or which become known to members of An Garda Síochána are recorded when, on the balance of probability, a Garda determines that a criminal offence defined by law has taken place, and there is no credible evidence to the contrary.

If it is subsequently determined that a criminal offence did not take place, the criminal offence recorded is invalidated and is not counted in the statistics.  If a person makes a report and subsequently withdraws it by stating that the criminal act did not take place, then this too is invalidated unless there is evidence to suggest that, by reasonable probability, the offence has taken place.

For criminal offences where victim confirmation is required (e.g. assault, fraud), a criminal offence is recorded only where the victim confirms the offence or where there is evidence to suggest that by reasonable probability it occurred.

Another important feature of a recorded offence is that it is based on the date reported to, or that it became known to, the Gardaí. This has major implications for some offence types.  Notable amongst these are sexual offences, as it has often been the case that such offences have been reported to An Garda Síochána many years (sometimes decades) after the event(s). Thus a sexual assault, which occurred in 1960, would be included in the statistics for 2006 if it was first reported in that year.

Detected Offences

Detailed guidelines exist within An Garda Síochána to determine whether a crime incident may be flagged as ‘detected’.

The main criteria for classifying an offence as ‘detected’ is when criminal proceedings have been commenced for at least one person for the offence.

However, there are a number of scenarios where an offence will be considered detected even though criminal proceedings may not be initiated.  For these reasons, the number of detected offences exceeds the number of offences with relevant convictions for some offence groups.

For example:

-          Approval may have been granted for a child to be dealt by An Garda Síochána under the Juvenile Diversion Programme, as provided for in the Children’s Act 2001, rather than face formal court proceedings.

-          An offender may have died before proceedings could be initiated.

-          An essential witness may be permanently unable or unwilling to co-operate with court proceedings.

Relevant Proceedings

The decision to initiate criminal proceedings on the basis of a recorded offence is the most notionally straightforward conclusion to the life-cycle of an offence. However, the relationship between recorded offences and court outcomes is not straightforward. Sometimes the charged offence may never have been recorded as an offence on the PULSE system.  It can (and does) happen that, at the time of a decision whether to charge, the evidence is such that a different offence is charged to the one originally recorded. Sometimes the offence charged is more serious than the original recorded offence and sometimes it is less serious. Therefore the relationship between the recorded offence and the subsequent proceeding is affected, and this proceeding may not be relevant to the original offence. The concept of ‘relevant proceedings’ has been introduced to link the specific primary offence to a relevant court outcome. Decisions have been taken by the CSO as to which proceedings are relevant to the original ‘counting’ offence. See http://www.cso.ie/en/surveysandmethodology/crime/ for a sample table of ICCS crime types and relevant proceedings types.

Convictions

There can be a significant passage of time between a crime incident and any subsequent court outcome.  The length of this passage of time is highly dependent on the offence type in question.  More serious offences can take longer to investigate and prosecute, whereas many minor offences can be dealt with summarily by the courts.  Therefore, it is not surprising that, for some ICCS groups in particular, data on court outcomes is subject to revision each year.  For this reason, each table with convictions data includes the number of cases which are pending including those with appeals allowed, to give a more complete picture of the progression of 2014 offences through the system.  This data should be considered a snapshot of the court proceedings at a point in time (i.e. mid 2016) rather than a final picture of all proceedings brought in relation to crime incidents reported in 2014. When a conviction is returned for a particular offence this typically means that an offender has been convicted of that particular offence and some subsequent order has been made.  However, convictions (for the purposes of this report) also include cases where the case against an offender is deemed proven but the judge makes an order without a formal conviction, and cases where the Probation of Offenders Act is applied.

Persons with Relevant Convictions

The fourth table provides a profile by age and sex of persons with relevant convictions.  It is important to note that there is not a one-to-one relationship between the number of offences with relevant proceedings and convictions (Table 3), and the number of persons convicted (Table 4). For example, it is possible that two people could be convicted of a homicide offence.  Table 3 would show a single homicide offence, recorded and detected, with one relevant proceeding and conviction.  However, Table 4 would then provide the age and sex of the two convicted offenders.  Consequently the total number of convictions would be slightly different to the total number of persons convicted.

Rates per population

The fifth table contains a breakdown of crime types by Garda administrative area. In addition to containing the absolute numbers of offences recorded and detected, this table presents the rate for each recorded offence type per 100,000 of population, for each region and Division.  This is simply achieved by dividing the number of offences recorded by the estimated population for the area, and multiplying by 100,000. This provides a common basis for comparing the prevalence of offences across administrative areas of different population size.

Additional technical notes

Classification of Offences

A criminal offence is classified at the time it is entered on the PULSE system.  In the vast majority of cases, this happens very soon after the crime incident becomes known to a member of An Garda Síochána. Following investigation some offences are reclassified from one type of crime to another. A crime incident can also be marked as invalid (but not deleted) if it transpires that a criminal offence did not occur.  Conversely, an incident, not initially thought to be criminal in nature, can subsequently be reclassified as a criminal incident on foot of further information. 

Court outcomes - Homicide

In general, offences are not reclassified on PULSE on foot of a court outcome.  An exception to this rule involves offences classified under Homicide Offences (ICCS 01).  It can often be the case that a charge of murder is brought and a verdict of manslaughter is returned.  In such a case, the original offence is reclassified to reflect the court outcome (It is for this reason that Murder/Manslaughter offences should be treated together in any trend analysis).

Assaults – resulting in death

An assault is generally recorded as such close to the time of the assault incident.  However, if the victim subsequently dies as a consequence, and after the assault has been recorded, this will always result in reclassification to a Homicide Offence on PULSE.

Recording Offences - Counting Rules

Crime counting rules are a complex area and have been the subject of debate over the years.  However, from an information/statistical perspective, crime counting rules should be applied in accordance with established criteria.

To fully appreciate the complexity involved, it is useful to consider a criminal event which consists of more than one offence.  For instance, a burglary and an assault offence can occur within one event.  Furthermore, there could be offences of trespass, criminal damage and arson also occurring as part of the same event.  For this event, the homicide would be recorded, as well as some other offences.  It would be unreasonable to suppose that all offences should be recorded (especially if there was more than one victim, see below), as some would be considered to be trivial in the context of the homicide.  So in this case, for practical purposes and on reasonable grounds, not all offences would be recorded.  The question then is what is recorded and how does this give comparable data?

There are a number of key counting rules that are applied to the recording of offences.  They are the Primary Offence and the One Offence Counts per Victim rules.

Primary Offence Rule

  • This particular counting rule dictates that when an incident results in a number of offences, only the most serious offence is counted for statistical purposes.

This is achieved by flagging, within PULSE, one offence which should “count” for that event.  This practice promotes consistency.  Counting only the primary incident is thus a good way of ensuring that there is consistent treatment of criminal events and consistency is paramount when it comes to comparison of data across geographic boundaries or over time.  Without the primary offence rule, there would be no basis to compare these data over any boundaries be they geographic or time-based.

The offence with the severest potential penalty is generally flagged as the primary offence.  However, offences against the person take precedence over offences against property when the offences have similar penalties.

One Offence Counts per Victim 

A. In general, one offence is counted per victim for any crime incident (i.e. criminal event).  So, irrespective of the number of offenders it is the number of victims of an incident that dictate how many offences will be recorded.

For example, a sexual event with one offender and two victims counts as two offences.  Conversely, an event with two offenders and one victim counts as one offence (or crime incident) in the recorded crime statistics.  In this latter case it is useful to remember that this one crime incident is the one that counts, regardless of how many offenders are prosecuted or subsequently convicted.

There are two exceptions to the one offence counts per victim rule. 

  • Financial losses sustained by institutions due to fraud

A first exception to the rule is a series of incidents involving credit/debit card/cheque card fraud.  The critical issue in determining the number of offences recorded is who bears the financial loss of the incidents.  If the financial loss is ultimately sustained by an institution (for instance a bank), a single offence is recorded because it is akin to a series of incidents against one victim (see note on repeat incidents below).  However, if the financial loss is incurred by a number of individuals then normal rules apply and one offence does count per victim. 

  • Burglary

The second exception is that of burglary, where there may be more than one victim (in the normal sense of the word).  This occurs when, for instance, items belonging to more than one person are taken.  Counting one offence per individual (person) victim would affect comparability.  This is because the number of burglaries recorded would become a function of the number of people living in burgled households.  This is an interesting quantity from a victimisation perspective, but not from a crime counting perspective.  Therefore, the one offence per victim rule is not applied in the case of burglary, and a single offence is generally recorded.  It is useful to think of the burglary as being a crime against a household for statistical reasons.

B. An extension of the One Offence Counts per Victim rule applies for repeat incidents involving the same victim and the same offender. 

Again, it is useful to look at sexual offences to illustrate this point.  It may be the case that there are numerous crime incidents perpetrated by the same offender against the same victim stretching back for many years (and often reported many years after the last incident).  It would be unreasonable to expect the same level of detail to be recorded about every individual offence that occurred throughout the series.  Moreover, some victims may not, for a variety of reasons, be in a position to remember all of the incidents involved in the series.  Therefore, applying the rule of one incident counts per victim for a series like this promotes consistency in approach for comparative purposes.  That is not to say that more information cannot be provided on the numbers of such incidents.  It can.  It is simply a case of interpretation being subject to some extra caveats for this type of incident series, it is open to debate whether the clustered nature of the offences (in time and/or place) renders them outside the scope of normal statistical comparison). 

Data from the Fixed Charge Penalty System (FCPS) is a large component of Dangerous or Negligent Operation of a Vehicle (ICCS 041) and Road and Traffic Offences (ICCS 14).  There are no counting rules applied to these offences. 

Issues around ‘Detection’ Status 

Detailed guidelines exist within An Garda Síochána regarding whether a crime incident may be flagged as “detected”. Within the PULSE system, however, the flagging of an incident is largely independent of any other data in the system there is no action that is automatically triggered because of the entry made for detection status.  It is therefore possible that an offence, which has in fact been detected, may, through omission, not be flagged as detected within the system. 

However, the situation is less clear with regard to incidents which consist of more than one criminal offence and are recorded as such.  This can also be the case when different events are grouped together on the system as an “investigation case”.  In these situations, it is not always clear from the raw data which offences are to be considered as detected and which are not.  Therefore, this complication arises because of the sophistication of PULSE as used as an operational policing tool which is its main purpose. 

As stated above, information on offences detected is presented on an “as-was” basis according to their status as at mid-2016.  However, the information is subject to an additional caveat it may not always be the case that it is the primary offence within an incident (the one that “counts”) that has in fact been detected.  This feature of the data is known to An Garda Síochana and is receiving attention. 

It may be intuitive to think of an offence occurring and being subsequently reported to the Gardaí in turn this leads to the recording of the offence which triggers an investigation.  The offence will, at any future point, be regarded as either detected or not detected.  However, the recording sequence for some incident types does not follow this path.  For these incident types, the recording of an offence actually follows the “detection” of the offence.  This is true for, inter alia, some drug offences and for offences of speeding and drink-driving.  The recording of these offence types is generally a function of police activities and prioritisation of those activities.

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