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Following the publication of the fifth Review of the Quality of Crime Statistics in October 2023, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has lifted the 'Under Reservation' categorisation around Recorded Crime Statistics. This is possible because An Garda Síochána have introduced a range of quality measures over the last number of years which have resulted in sustained improvement in the quality of the underlying crime data. These changes give a level of assurance to users that they can rely on Recorded Crime Statistics.
For further information see our Lifting of Under Reservation categorisation for Recorded Crime Statistics FAQ page.
Detection rates for most crimes reported in 2022 were equal to or just below 2021 rates.
About a fifth (19%) of Sexual offences reported in 2021 had been detected by September 2023 while the detection rate for those reported in 2022 was 9%.
The detection rate for Fraud crime was significantly lower for 2021 and 2022 than earlier years, with a more than doubling in the volume of this crime from 2020 levels a likely contributory factor here.
The crime rate in the Dublin Metropolitan region in 2022 was generally higher than other regions, but the rate of detection was lower for a number of offence groups.
Males were the suspected offender for the majority of detected crime in 2022, particularly for Sexual Offences (97%). Females were the suspected offender in nearly a third of Theft & Related offences and were the suspected offender in a quarter of Fraud & Deception offences.
Half (51%) of suspected offenders of detected Sexual offences reported in 2022 were aged between 18 and 44 years when the offence took place.
This publication provides annual statistics relating to Recorded Crime incidents which have been marked as detected by An Garda Síochána (AGS) up to 2022.
A crime may be marked as detected when:
The rules which govern when an incident may be marked as detected by AGS are set out in the Guide to how crime is counted and recorded by An Garda Síochána (PDF 971KB) document, which explains the current rules and procedures for recording crime data on PULSE.
The CSO also publishes annual statistics in respect of persons who have been recorded as the victims or suspected offenders of serious crimes against the person such as homicide, sexual violence or assault and related offences, see Recorded Crime Victims and Suspected Offenders.
The CSO published its fifth CSO Review of the Quality of Recorded Crime Statistics in October 2023. As part of this review the CSO has lifted the ‘Under Reservation’ designation from all Recorded Crime data disseminated after Quarter 1 (Q1) 2023.
An Garda Síochána (AGS) has worked over the past number of years to advance the assurance levels which can be provided around Garda PULSE data, and in particular the quality management developments of 2022 and 2023. This work has seen the development of quality assurance processes by AGS over the period which has culminated in the implementation of a more formal data quality management system by AGS.
The recorded crime series has been progressively improving over time with the cumulative impact of the improved data quality, assessment, and assurance measures being seen in a higher data quality level as noted in various CSO reviews in recent years.
Given the new AGS controls for quality checking and reporting, coupled with the CSO reserving the right to do its own reviews, a level of assurance has been provided warranting the lifting of the "Under Reservation” categorisation.
However, some judgement should be exercised by users when using data produced in the earlier years of the recorded crime time series given the legacy quality issues which have been commented on in various reviews. For instance, detections data pre and post 2018 are not comparable given the improved governance controls introduced in that year. The CSO will continue to inform users of the quality of the data they are using, and of any particular issues which may need to be noted around time series comparability as they arise.
Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.
Statistician's Comment
Commenting on the publication, Jim Dalton, Statistician in the Crime & Criminal Justice Section, said: “Recorded Crime Detection statistics published today for 2022 marks the first Recorded Crime publication since the recent lifting of the ‘Under Reservation’ designation. (See Editor’s note below).
A crime may be marked as detected when An Garda Síochána have identified at least one person responsible for committing the offence and that person has been issued a charge or summons, a formal or informal caution, or a fixed payment notice.
The data showed that the detection rate for most categories of crime recorded in 2022 were at or just below 2021 recorded crime detection rates when measured at the same point of time. In addition, the detection rates for crime incidents reported in 2021 for a number of offence groups when measured in September 2023 did not change significantly from when measured twelve months earlier.
The CSO measures detection rates eight months after the end of a particular year to ensure consistency in the measurement of detections over time.
Detection rates
The statistics show that detection rates as measured in September 2023 for crimes reported in 2021 did not significantly change for a number of crime types when compared with the initial detection rates for these crimes as measured in September 2022. For example, 21% of Burglary & Related offences reported in 2021 had been detected as at September 2023 compared with 20% a year earlier, and the detection rate for Theft & Related offences reported in 2021 increased from 33% when measured in September 2022 to 34% when measured in September 2023. There were some exceptions however with the detection rate for Sexual offences reported in 2021 having risen from 12% when measured at September 2022 to 19% when measured at September 2023, and likewise for Homicide & Related offences going from a 76% to a 87% detection rate.
Crime and detection rates by Garda Region
The crime rate for the Dublin Metropolitan region was generally higher than other regions but the rate of detection in 2022 was highest for just four of the fourteen offence groups in 2022. For example, this region experienced a crime rate of 2,388 incidents per 100,000 people for Theft & Related offences which was nearly twice the State average and nearly four times as much as the North Western region. However, the detection rate at 26% for the Dublin Metropolitan region for this crime was the lowest among all the regions. Other examples include Robbery, Extortion & Hijacking offences where the crime rate in Dublin was twice that of the State average at 82 instances per 100,000 people. The Dublin region had a detection rate of 23% for this offence group but was exceeded by the Southern (31%) and Eastern (32%) regions.
However, Dublin had the highest detection rate for Weapons & Explosives offences at 77% despite the crime incidence rate of 81 incidents per 100,000 people being twice as high as each of the other regions.
Suspected offenders
As in previous years, males continued to be the suspected offender for the majority of detected crime for 2022. For detected crimes, males were the suspected offender in nearly all (97%) of Sexual offences, 92% of Robbery, Extortion & Hijacking offences, 90% of Burglary & Related offences, 84% of Homicide offences, and 80% of Attempts/Threats to Murder, Assaults, Harassment & Related offences. On the other hand, females were the suspected offender in just over a third (36%) of detected Theft & Related offences and for almost a quarter (24%) of offences involving Fraud & Deception.
Suspected offenders of Sexual offences
Half (51%) of suspected offenders of detected Sexual offences reported in 2022 were aged between 18 and 44 years when the offence took place, and this was similar to 2020 and 2021 levels. Just over eight in ten (82%) suspected offenders for detected Homicide & Related offences reported in 2022 were also aged between 18 and 44 years when the offence occurred, and this was higher than the average of 67% in the previous two years. The age profile of suspected offenders of reported incidents of Attempts/Threats to Murder, Assaults, Harassment & Related offences was very similar between 2020 and 2022, for example, about two thirds of suspected offenders in each year were aged 18-44 years when the offence took place.
Fixed Payment Notices
Statistics for fixed payment notices issued by An Garda Síochána showed an increase of 28% to 777 in the number of fines issued for Drink driving offences between 2021 and 2022 but was still well below the pre COVID-19 level of 1,069 notices issued in 2019. Fixed payment notices issued for Motorway offences were down 32%, cycling offences were up by 22% and those issued for Public Order offences were up by 19% since 2021. Fixed Payment Notices issued for Holding a Mobile Phone while driving and Seat Belt offences were each down by about a fifth since 2021.”