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Vehicle and Bicycle Crime

Vehicle and Bicycle Crime

CSO statistical release, , 11am

Respondents aged 18 years or over were asked whether they owned or had the use of a vehicle (car, motorbike, van, commercial vehicle, scooter) or a bicycle (including electric bicycles) in the 12 months prior to interview and, if so, whether they had experienced crime in respect of the vehicle or bicycle. In addition, information is provided on reasons for not reporting vehicle or bicycle crime.

Vehicle and bicycle theft rates increased in 2025 with the highest rate in the Dublin region

One in every 25 (4%) vehicle owners / users said that there had been a theft or attempted theft of their vehicle, up slightly from 3% in 2019. In addition, 4% of vehicle owners / users said that there had been a theft or attempted theft of an item from their vehicle, also up from 3% in 2019. In the case of bicycle owners, 5% said that there had been a theft or attempted theft of their bicycle and this was unchanged from 2019.

The highest prevalence of vehicle crime was for the Dublin region, where 10% of vehicle users said there had been a theft or attempted theft of their vehicle, and 9% said there was a theft or attempted theft of an item from their vehicle. The lowest rates were for the Border, Midland, and West regions where the prevalence rates were no more than 2%.

The prevalence rate for theft or attempted theft of bicycles was also considerably higher in Dublin (12% of bicycle users) than in other areas of the country though this was down slightly from 13% in 2019. This was followed by the Mid-West (6%) and Mid-East (5%) regions (See Map 5.1 and Table 5.1).

Map 5.1 All vehicle users aged 18 years and over who were victims of vehicle crime (including attempted) in the last 12 months by type of vehicle crime and NUTS3 region, 2025
Table 5.1 All vehicle users aged 18 years and over who were victims of vehicle crime (including attempted) in the last 12 months by type of vehicle crime and NUTS3 region, 2019 and 2025 (%)

Significant fall in reporting rates for vehicle and bicycle crime in 2025

In 2025, 45% of vehicle owners / users reported some or all incidents of vehicle or bicycle crime to An Garda Síochána (AGS) compared with 59% in 2019.

The reporting rate for vehicle theft or attempted thereof crime was 50% and this was down from 67% in 2019 while that for thefts from vehicles fell from 59% in 2019 to 50% in 2019. Just under four in ten (39%) victims of bicycle theft reported the incident to AGS in 2025 compared with 54% in 2019 (See Figure 5.2 and Table 5.2).

Figure 5.2 All vehicle users aged 18 years and over who were victims of vehicle crime (including attempted) in the last 12 months and reported some or all incidents to An Garda Síochána by type of vehicle crime, 2019 and 2025
Table 5.2 All vehicle users aged 18 years and over who were victims of vehicle crime (including attempted) in the last 12 months and reported some or all incidents to An Garda Síochána by type of vehicle crime, 2019 and 2025 (%)

More than four in ten victims of vehicle theft or attempted vehicle theft felt the incident was not serious enough to report

In 2025, 41% of people who experienced vehicle theft or attempted vehicle theft did not report the incident as it was felt that the incident was not serious enough or no loss was suffered. Other specific reasons given for not reporting this type of crime was the belief that AGS would not do anything (33%) or could do nothing (20%). The main reasons for not reporting theft / attempted theft from vehicles and that of bicycles were the same, but a higher share of victims of bicycle theft believed that AGS could do nothing (51%) or wouldn’t do anything (43%) (See Tables 5.3, 5.4, & 5.5).

Table 5.3 All vehicle users aged 18 years and over who were victims of vehicle 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 5.4 All vehicle users aged 18 years and over who were victims of theft from vehicle (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 5.5 All vehicle users aged 18 years and over who were victims of bicycle theft from vehicle (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 (%)