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Personal Crime

Personal Crime

CSO statistical release, , 11am

This chapter presents data on the experiences of survey respondents regarding their personal encounters with crime in the 12 months preceding the interview. It details whether people were victims of crimes of Violent or Non-violent Theft, Attempted Theft, Fraud, and Physical Assault. 

Additionally, information is provided on the levels of reporting for the different crimes, the reasons why victims do not report the crimes, and whether the respondents felt that they were a victim due to their own personal characteristics. For the purposes of this release, these crime types are collectively referred to as ‘personal crime’. 

More than one in ten people were victims of Fraud crime in 2025

In 2025, 11% of people surveyed reported being a victim of Fraud crime compared with 4% in 2019. It should be noted that the nature and volume of this type of crime has changed considerably over the period. The same victim rates of 11% were observed among both males and females in 2025. The rate was highest among the 30-44 and 45-59 age groups, at 14% and 12% respectively while the prevalence among people aged 60 years and over was the lowest at 7% (See Figure 3.1 and Tables 3.1 & 3.2).

The most frequently reported type of Fraud crime in 2025 was Card Payment Fraud, affecting 45% of Fraud crime victims. This was followed by Phone Fraud and Online Shopping / Auction Fraud, reported by 26% of Fraud victims. Account Takeover Fraud occurred less frequently, affecting 8% of victims compared with 7% for Computer Fraud (See Table 3.3).

Figure 3.1 All persons aged 18 years and over who were victims of personal crime (including attempted) in the last 12 months by type of crime and sex of victim, 2019 and 2025
Table 3.1 All persons aged 18 years and over who were victims of personal crime (including attempted) in the last 12 months by type of crime and sex of victim, 2019 and 2025 (%)
Table 3.2 All persons aged 18 years and over who were victims of personal crime (including attempted) in the last 12 months by type of crime and age of victim, 2019 and 2025 (%)
Table 3.3 All persons aged 18 years and over who were victims of fraud (including attempted) in the last 12 months by type of fraud, 2025 (%)

Non-violent theft crime was much more prevalent in 2025 than in 2019

In 2025, 8% of respondents reported being victims of Non-violent Theft crime, up from 4% in 2019. The prevalence rate among males was marginally higher than of females with 8% of males experiencing this crime compared with 7% of females (See Table 3.1).

The highest percentage of victims were among those aged between 30 and 44 years at 10%, followed by those aged 45-59 years (8%) and those aged 18-29 years (7%). The comparable rate for those aged 60 years and over was 5% (See Table 3.2).

The prevalence of Non-violent Theft crime was highest in the Dublin region where 11% of people were victims of this crime. This was followed by the Mid-East (10%) and Mid-West (9%) regions (See Map 3.1 and Table 3.4).

Map 3.1 All persons aged 18 years and over who were victims of personal crime (including attempted) in the last 12 months by type of crime and NUTS3 region, 2025 (%)
Table 3.4 All persons aged 18 years and over who were victims of personal crime (including attempted) in the last 12 months by type of crime and NUTS3 region, 2019 and 2025 (%)

Increased prevalence of Violent Theft crime in 2025 but most victims did not sustain any injury

In 2025, 3% of people surveyed reported being victims of Violent Theft crime compared with 2% in 2019. The share among males was 4% while it was 2% among females. The rate was highest among those aged between 18 and 29 years and 30 and 44 years at 5% each with between 2% and 3% for the other age groups (See Tables 3.1 & 3.2).

Those who were victims of this crime were asked whether they sustained any physical or emotional injury following the incident. Most victims (77%) reported as having sustained no injury, 10% received cuts / bruises not requiring medical attention, and 7% had to visit a doctor or GP (See Table 3.5).

Table 3.5 All persons aged 18 years and over who were victims of violent theft and physical assault (including attempted) in the last 12 months by type of treatment for physical or emotional injury sustained, 2025 (%)

Prevalence of Physical Assault crimes doubled between 2019 and 2025

In 2025, 4% of people surveyed indicated that they had been a victim of Physical Assault, compared with 2% in 2019. Males and the younger age groups were more likely to have been victims with 5% of males having been a victim compared with 3% of females. Among the age groups, 7% of those between 18 and 29 years and 6% of those between 30 and 44 years were victims. In contrast, 3% of those aged 45-59 years and just 1% of those aged 60 years and over were victims (See Tables 3.1 & 3.2).

Almost six in ten (58%) victims indicated they did not sustain any injuries from the Physical Assault, while 24% had to visit a doctor or GP and 8% reported minor cuts / bruises that did not require medical attention (See Table 3.5).

Overall prevalence of personal crime doubled between 2019 and 2025

Taking all of the above together, almost one-fifth (19%) of people aged 18 years or over said they had been a victim of some form of personal crime. This represents a near doubling of the rate of 10% from 2019.

A higher proportion of males (21%) than females (17%) were victims of personal crime. Those aged 60 years and over were less likely to have been a victim compared with those under 60 years. A fifth (20%) of people in both the 18 to 29 and the 45 to 59 year age groups were victims of personal crime in the preceding year while the figure was 25% for those aged 30 to 44 years. These compared with 12% of those aged 60 years and over (See Tables 3.1 & 3.2).

Victims of personal crime were less likely to report the incident to An Garda Síochána in 2025 compared with 2019

In 2025, 30% of personal crime victims reported the incident to An Garda Síochána (AGS), down from 39% in 2019. The rate of reporting to AGS in 2025 varied across the different personal crime types ranging from 54% for Violent Theft to 17% for Fraud. There was a decrease in reporting for three of the four crime types, with the most significant drop for Violent Theft (from 67% to 54%) and Non-violent Theft (from 51% to 41%). The reporting rate for Fraud decreased from 19% to 17% over the period. Conversely, the reporting rate for Physical Assault increased from 29% to 37% between 2019 and 2025 (See Figure 3.2 and Table 3.6).

Figure 3.2 All victims of personal crime (including attempted) aged 18 years and over who reported some or all incidents to An Garda Síochána by type of personal crime, 2019 and 2025 (%)
Table 3.6 All persons aged 18 years and over who were victims of personal crime (including attempted) in the last 12 months and reported some or all incidents to An Garda Síochána by type of personal crime, 2019 and 2025 (%)

Inability or reluctance of An Garda Síochána to act cited as some of the main reasons for not reporting personal crime

Victims of crime chose not to report the incident for several reasons and Tables 3.7 to 3.10 show the reasons for not reporting personal crime in 2025.

The most common reasons given by respondents included the belief that AGS could not or would not do anything as well as the perception that the crime was not serious enough or that no loss was incurred.

For Violent Theft, 38% of victims who opted not to report the incident cited the belief that AGS would not do anything as the main reason for not doing so. Additionally, 33% believed that AGS could do nothing about the crime, while 24% felt that the crime was not serious enough or that no loss was incurred (See Table 3.7).

In cases of Non-violent Theft, 37% of victims not reporting the crime felt that the crime was not serious enough or that no loss was incurred. An additional 64% believed that AGS could not or would not do anything. A smaller percentage, 13%, reported solving the matter themselves or having known the perpetrator (See Table 3.8).

In the context of Physical Assault, 36% of victims did not report the crime because they did not consider it serious enough, while 70% believed that AGS could not or would not do anything. Furthermore, 13% did not want to involve AGS at all in the matter (See Table 3.9).

Similarly, 31% of victims of Fraud in 2025 refrained from reporting because they did not view the crime as serious enough or suffered no loss. An additional 44% believed that AGS could not or would not do anything, while 11% did not want to involve AGS at all in the matter. Just 13% of victims did not think that any lost money would be recovered (See Table 3.10).

Table 3.7 All persons aged 18 years and over who were victims of violent theft (including attempted) in the last 12 months and did not report some or all incidents to An Garda Síochána by reason for not reporting incidents, 2025 (%)
Table 3.8 All persons aged 18 years and over who were victims of non-violent theft (including attempted) in the last 12 months and did not report some or all incidents to An Garda Síochána by reason for not reporting incidents, 2025 (%)
Table 3.9 All persons aged 18 years and over who were victims of physical assault (including attempted) in the last 12 months and did not report some or all incidents to An Garda Síochána by reason for not reporting incidents, 2025 (%)
Table 3.10 All persons aged 18 years and over who were victims of fraud (including attempted) in the last 12 months and did not report some or all incidents to An Garda Síochána by reason for not reporting incidents, 2025 (%)

Most victims of personal crime could not identify any particular motivation for the crime

More than eight in ten (82%) victims of personal crime could not identify any particular motivation for the crime that was committed against them. Where stated, 8% believed it was either their gender or family / carer status and 6% of victims believed the incident took place because of their socio-economic background (See Table 3.11).

Table 3.11 All persons aged 18 years and over who were victims of personal crime (including attempted) in the last 12 months by type of personal crime and perceived grounds for discrimination, 2025 (%)