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Linkage between Recorded Victims 2024 and Suspected Offenders 2024

Linkage between Recorded Victims 2024 and Suspected Offenders 2024

One in five detected crime incidents of Sexual offences involved both a male suspected offender and male victim

Online ISSN: 2712-0279
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Where a victim and suspected offender are recorded for a detected crime incident it is possible to link a victim and suspected offender to produce a limited profile (i.e., age and sex) of the victim and suspected offender relationship. Table 4.1 therefore differs from Table 2.1 in that the former refers to detected crime and the latter refers just to crime incidents reported to An Garda Síochána.

Table 3.1 in chapter 3 shows that most suspected offenders of detected crime for the offence groups listed were male and this is also reflected in Table 4.1.

One in five (21%) detected crime incidents of Sexual offences involved both a male suspected offender and male victim compared with 17% in 2023. Four in every five (78%) detected crime incidents of this offence type involved a male suspected offender and a female victim and this was down slightly from 81% in 2023.

The suspected offender and victim were both male in 71% of Murder, Manslaughter, or Infanticide crime incidents in 2024 that were detected. In 13% of such detected crimes, the suspected offender was a male, and the victim was a female compared with 24% in 2023. 

The suspected offender and victim were male for 53% of detected crime incidents of Attempts/Threats to Murder, Assaults, Harassments and Related offences. A quarter (25%) of such detected crimes involved a male suspected offender and female victim. Within this category, 76% of assault crime incidents involved a male suspected offender and 37% of victims were female.

More than half (54%) of detected crime incidents of Harassment and Related offences involved a male suspected offender and female victim. A further 29% of such crime incidents involved both a male suspected offender and male victim and the remaining 17% involved a female suspected offender.

Overall, females accounted for 63% of victims of detected crime incidents of Harassment & Related offences and males were the suspected offender for 83% of such crime incidents. See Figure 4.1, Table 4.1, and PxStat Table CVA10.

Male suspected offender and male victimMale suspected offender and female victimFemale suspected offender and male victimFemale suspected offender and female victim
Murder/Manslaughter/Infanticide (011)7113160
Sexual offences (02)217801
Assaults (032)5422815
Harassment & Related offences (033)295489
Table 4.1 Recorded crime victims (crime incidents of selected offence groups) linked to suspected offenders by sex of victim and suspected offender, 2023 and 2024

Half of victims of crime incidents of Sexual offences in 2024 that have been marked detected were under 18 years of age at the time of occurrence

About half (48%) of victims of recorded crime incidents of Sexual offences in 2024 that have been detected by March 2026 were under 18 years when the incident occurred. A further 29% were aged between 18 and 29 years and 23% were aged 30 years or more.

Three in ten (30%) detected crime incidents of Sexual offences in 2024 involved a victim who was under 18 years and a suspected offender who was aged 30 years or more when the incident occurred. Just over one-third (34%) of such crime incidents involved this same age cohort of suspected offenders but with victims aged 18 years or more.

The majority of victims of detected crime incidents of Homicide & Related offences (89%) and Attempts/Threats to Murder, Assaults, Harassments and Related offences (82%), who were at least 18 years of age at the time of the incident, were linked to a suspected offender of the same age profile.

More than four in ten (42%) detected crime incidents of Attempts/Threats to Murder, Assaults, Harassments and Related offences involved a suspected offender and victim who were at least 30 years old when the incident occurred. Suspected offenders who were under 18 years were responsible for 15% of all detected crime incidents under this heading. The profile for two of the constituent categories Attempts/Threats to Murder and Assaults were broadly similar.

However, the profile for crime incidents of Harassment & Related offences that were detected was somewhat different. The suspected offender and victim were at least 30 years of age at the time of occurrence for 48% of such crime incidents. Just over a fifth (22%) of these detected crime incidents involved suspected offenders who were under 18 years of age when the incident took place. See Figure 4.2, Table 4.2, and PxStat Table CVA11.

X-axis labelSuspected offender aged under 18 yearsSuspected offender aged 18-29 yearsSuspected offender aged 30 years and over
Crime victim aged under 18 years71230
Crime victim aged 18-29 years11217
Crime victim aged 30 years and over1417
Table 4.2 Recorded crime victims (crime incidents of selected offence groups) linked to suspected offenders by age of victim and suspected offender when incident occurred, 2023 and 2024