The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns is further evident in the latest Recorded Crime statistics. The number of criminal offences recorded by An Garda Síochána has fallen sharply in most crime categories in the year to Q1 2021.

The total number of recorded incidents in the year to March 2021 fell sharply in the categories of Burglary and related offences (down by 7,457, or 45.4%), Theft and related offences (down by 20,497, or 30.7%) and Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences (down by 609, or 26.4%), when compared with the corresponding period to Q1 2020. See Table 1.1 and Figure 1.1.

There were also notable decreases in the numbers of crime incidents classified as Attempts/threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences (down by 2,953, or 13.9%), while Damage to property and to the environment fell by 11.4% and Public order and other social code offences fell by 11.2%.

The number of crime incidents classified as Fraud and related offences increased by 1,101, or 13.7% in the year to Q1 2021. There were also increases in the number of Controlled drug offences (+9.5%) and Weapons and explosives offences (+7.6%).

The number of homicide offences recorded fell by 14 in the year to Q1 2021 compared to a year earlier, including a decrease of eight in the combined figure for Murder and Manslaughter incidents. See Tables 1.1 and 3.1.

A total of 10,459 offences were recorded on PULSE for breaches of COVID-19 regulations in Q1 2021. This is a marked increase on 1,090 such offences recorded during 2020 (304 in Q2 2020, 262 in Q3 2020, 524 in Q4 2020), and reflects the introduction of a new system of Fixed Payment Notices (i.e. fines) in respect of breaches of COVID-19 regulations in December 2020. The figure includes unpaid fines and other offences, but does not include fines which were paid. The offences are not included in the statistical tables in this publication due to difficulties aligning them with the existing statistical classification.

Lockdown restrictions continued to impact on levels of Recorded Crime during Q1 2021, which were dramatically reduced in most crime types compared with Q1 2020 when COVID-19 restrictions were initially introduced.

There were 1,949 fewer incidents of Burglary and related offences reported during Q1 2021 than in Q1 2020, representing a drop of 50.3%. Sharp decreases were also observed in Theft and related offences (down by 5,019 incidents, or 33.8%) and for Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences (lower by 121 incidents, or 22.2%) during Q1 2021 compared with Q1 2020. See Table 1.2 and Figure 1.2.

Figures indicate a significant rise in crime incidents classified as Fraud and related offences, which was higher by 1,322 incidents (+64.9%) in Q1 2021 than in the corresponding period in 2020. The totals for Controlled drug offences (+16.7%) and for Sexual offences (+7.9%) were also higher.

This section provides additional detail on Group 03 incidents (Attempts/threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences), as users may be interested in the demographic breakdown of victims of this crime group. Note that the number of victims highlighted in this section will not match the number of incidents in Table 1.2 above as there may, in limited circumstances, be incidents where no injured party is recorded.

The number of persons recorded as victims of Group 03 incidents (Attempts/threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences) during Q1 2021 was 602 lower (-13.6%) than for the corresponding period in 2020. This fall was mostly accounted for by a reduction in male victims, down 483 (-18.9%) on Q1 2020. The number of female victims of assault also decreased, but by a smaller figure of 119 (-6.4%). Despite the overall decrease, the number of female victims aged Under 18 increased by 11 (+5.2%) in Q1 2021 compared to Q1 2020. See Table 1.3 and Figure 1.3.