These statistics are categorised as Under Reservation. This categorisation indicates that the quality of these statistics do not meet the standards required of official statistics published by the CSO. For further information please refer to the Under Reservation FAQ page.
Recorded crime incidents classed as Theft & Related offences increased by 36% to 69,340 in the year to Q1 2023 compared with the previous year. Theft from shops, which contributed to nearly half of this increase, was up by 37% over the year.
Crime incidents involving Fraud, Deception & Related offences were down 41% to 10,366 over the same period mostly due to a fall in incidents of unauthorised transactions and attempts to obtain personal or banking information online or by phone.
Most other crime categories increased over the year to Q1 2023, with the highest rates of increase in Homicide & Related offences (+28%), and Robbery, Extortion & Hijacking offences (+20%).
The number of crime incidents classed as Burglary & Related offences at 9,246 in the year to Q1 2023 was just over half (55%) of the 16,741 incidents recorded in the same period in 2019.
Victims of Attempts/Threats to Murder, Assaults, Harassments & Related offences fell by 8% in the year to Q1 2023 when compared with Q1 2022. The number of male victims fell by 8% while the number of female victims fell by 7%.
Recorded Crime statistics continue to be categorised as Statistics Under Reservation.
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.
Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (27 June 2023) released Recorded Crime Quarter 1 2023.
Commenting on the publication, Jim Dalton, Statistician in the Crime & Criminal Justice Section, said: “Recorded Crime statistics published today for Quarter 1 (Q1) 2023 showed that Theft crime was up by 36% and Fraud crime was down by 41% in the year to Q1 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
Theft crimes were up while Fraud crimes were down in the year to Q1 2023
Theft & Related offence crimes were up by 36% to 69,340 incidents in the year to Q1 2023 compared to a year earlier. Theft from shops which contributed to nearly half of this increase was up by 37% over the year.
Fraud crime however was down by 41% to 10,366 incidents and this was due mostly to a fall in in incidents of unauthorised transactions and attempts to obtain personal or banking information online or by phone.
Most other categories of recorded crime incidents increased in the year to Q1 2023, with the largest rates of increase being in Homicide & Related offences (+28%), and Robbery, Extortion & Hijacking offences (+20%). Sexual offences rose by 2% over the same period.
There were however decreases in recorded crime incidents involving Dangerous or Negligent Acts (-5%) and to a lesser extent Controlled Drugs offences (-1%).
Burglary crime in Q1 2023 was at just over half of pre-pandemic level
The number of crime incidents classed as Burglary & Related offences at 9,246 in the year to Q1 2023 was just over half (55%) of the 16,741 incidents recorded in the same period in 2019. This compares with the other categories of crime which were either just below or above the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
Victims of Assaults offences down in the year to Q1 2023
Victims of Attempts/Threats to Murder, Assaults, Harassments & Related offences during Q1 2023 fell by 8% from the corresponding period in 2022. Male victims fell by 8% while female victims fell by 7%.
When you look at the profile of victims by age, the picture was slightly mixed. The number of male victims fell in all age groups except those under 18 years which increased by 6%. Male victims aged 60 years or more showed the highest rate of decrease at 15%. For female victims, the number of victims aged 60 years or more rose by 54% while there was no change for those under 18 years. In all other age groups, the number of victims fell, with the largest decrease being among the 18-29 age group (-19%).
Impact of COVID-19 on data for 2020 and 2021
Data for 2020 and 2021 for some crime categories are likely to have been influenced by the public health restrictions imposed as a result of COVID-19.”