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Table 3.1 provides further breakdown by offence type of the total number of recorded crime incidents in the 12 months to December 2021 compared with the corresponding period a year earlier. As outlined earlier, the fall in the number of incidents classified as Dangerous driving leading to death accounted for two thirds of the total reduction of 39 in the number of Group 01 (Homicide offences) from a year earlier.
There was an increase of 5.7% or 1,088 in the number of crimes classified in Group 03 (Attempts or threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences) compared to the previous 12 months. The majority of this was accounted for by increases in the number of incidents categorised as Assault causing harm, poisoning (+11.8% or 503) and Other assault (+2.6% or 301). There were also increases in the number of incidents categorised as Threats to kill or cause serious harm (+6.6% or 101) and Harassment and related offences (11% or 186).
The number of incidents categorised as 04 (Dangerous or negligent acts) fell by 5.5% or 484 in the year to December 2021. This was mostly accounted for by reductions in incidents of Driving/In charge of a vehicle while over the legal alcohol limit (-2.9% or 150), Driving/In charge of a vehicle under the influence of drugs (-5.9% or 156) and Endangerment with potential for serious harm/death (-32.9% or 114).
Incidents of 07 (Burglary and related offences) fell by 21.1% or 2,299 over the year and most of this was mainly accounted for by a reduction in incidents of Burglary (not aggravated).
Over the year, the number of incidents categorised as 10 (Controlled drug offences) fell by 13.1% or 3,035 and reductions in Possession of drugs for sale or supply and Possession of drugs for personal use accounted for much of this decrease.
Table 3.2 shows the trend in recorded crime incidents by incident category over a five-year period, from the 12 months ending December 2017 to the 12 months ending December 2021. It should be noted that the figures for 2020 and 2021 in respect of some crime categories are likely to be influenced by the public health restrictions imposed as a result of COVID-19.
The number of crime incidents classified as Fraud, deception and related offences has more than trebled from 5,401 incidents in the year to Q4 2017 to 16,929 in the year to Q4 2021. Within this period, the biggest change was between 2020 and 2021 where the number of incidents more than doubled. See Table 3.2 and Figure 3.1.
The number of recorded incidents of Burglary and related offences, which had been falling steadily for several years, has decreased even more sharply in the last two years, most likely influenced by the travel restrictions imposed due to COVID-19. The number of burglary incidents fell from 19,203 to 16,747 between 2017 and 2019 but fell sharply in 2020 to 10,890 and to 8,591 by the end of 2021. See Table 3.2 and Figure 3.1.
| 07 Burglary and related offences | 09 Fraud, deception and related offences | |
| 2017 | 19203 | 5401 |
| 2018 | 16952 | 6308 |
| 2019 | 16747 | 7942 |
| 2020 | 10890 | 7834 |
| 2021 | 8591 | 16929 |
Crime by Garda regions
The Garda regional structure changed in 2019. This reduced the number of Garda regions from six to four. The four regions are:
A breakdown of recorded crime incidents by Garda region for the year to Q4 2020 and Q4 2021, using the new Garda regions, is provided in Table 3.3.
The number of crimes classified as Homicides and related offences more or less halved in all Garda regions in the year ending December 2021.
Incidents classified as Sexual offences increased across all four Garda regions in 2021 with the North Western region recording the highest rate of increase at 21.5% followed by the Southern region at 12.6%. The Eastern region had the lowest rate of increase at 6.9%.
Incidences of Fraud, deception and related offences increased very significantly across all regions. The Southern region showed the highest increase where the number of incidents were almost two and half times the level in 2020. The Dublin Metropolitan region recorded the lowest rate of increase at 82.3%.
By contrast, the number of crimes classified in the categories of Burglary and related offences fell across all regions and the highest rates of decreases were in the Dublin Metropolitan (-30.5%) and Southern regions (-20.3%).
The number of incidents classified in the categories of Controlled drug offences also fell across all regions. The Dublin Metropolitan region had the largest rate of decrease (-21.7%) followed by the North Western region (-15.1%) while the Southern region had the lowest at -2.7%.
| Dublin Metropolitan | North Western | Eastern | Southern | |
| 02 Sexual offences | 30.4 | 22 | 25.4 | 22.3 |
| 06 Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences | 66.5 | 9.6 | 13 | 10.9 |
| 07 Burglary and related offences | 41.6 | 16.1 | 25.6 | 16.7 |
| 08 Theft and related offences | 53.8 | 11.1 | 17.9 | 17.3 |
| 10 Controlled drug offences | 37.5 | 14.4 | 23.2 | 24.9 |
| 12 Damage to property and to the environment | 39.8 | 17.9 | 20.7 | 21.5 |
| 13 Public order and other social code offences | 36.5 | 20 | 18.7 | 24.8 |
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