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Crime

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The statistics in this chapter relate to a number of aspects of justice and defence. They have been obtained from the Garda Síochána, the Prison Service, the Probation Service and the Central Statistics Office. Crime figures are provided for the number of offences recorded by the Garda Síochána. These are based on the Irish Crime Classification System (ICCS).

Probation recidivism provides figures for the re-offending rates of those placed on Probation Orders and Community Service Orders. Prison recidivism provides figures for the re-offending rates of those released from the custody of the Irish Prison Service. 

4.1 Recorded offences classified by group, 2008 to 2013       
        
Offence 200820092010201120122013
        
01 Homicide offences 898889667983
02 Sexual offences 1,4061,4802,3662,0142,1172,021
03 Attempts or threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences 19,15018,35317,70317,06215,71014,452
04 Dangerous or negligent acts 19,58715,53212,0939,9469,0517,665
05 Kidnapping and related offences 77146134109101120
06 Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences 2,2992,4913,1962,9312,8172,805
07 Burglary and related offences 24,68226,91025,42027,69528,13326,153
08 Theft and related offences 76,86177,03176,82776,97576,40278,773
09 Fraud, deception and related offences 5,4104,9474,9885,3705,7914,828
10 Controlled drug offences 23,40421,98220,00517,69516,45015,394
11 Weapons and explosives offences 4,0164,0644,0993,4833,0382,749
12 Damage to property and to the environment 44,62642,33039,36935,57432,42828,933
13 Public order and other social code offences 61,82057,35154,94149,06043,86236,432
15 Offences against Government, justice procedures and organisation of crime 13,27811,89811,39810,1739,4459,010
Source: CSO      

Interactive table: StatBank link

Comparing recorded offences between 2013 and 2012, falls continued in most offence groups. There were rises in Hoimcide offences (79 to 83), Kidnapping and related offences (101 to 120) and Theft and related offences (76,402 to 78,773).

 

 

This map is © Ordnance Survey Ireland. All rights reserved. License number 01/05/001.

There were 83 Homicide offences (ICCS 01) recorded in 2013 (provisional figures subject to revision). Dublin Metropolitan Region Western and Cavan/Monaghan Garda Divisions had the highest number of recorded offences at 9.

 

4.2 Incidents of Assaults and Burglary, recorded, per 100,000 population, detections and with relevant proceedings, 2012
       
OffenceGarda regionRecordedPer 100,000 populationDetectedDetection rate (%)With relevant proceedings
      
Assaults Northern 1,832353.11,38375.5755
 Western 1,490253.51,01868.3445
 Southern 2,672307.92,00975.2812
 Eastern 2,104272.51,37365.3617
 South Eastern 1,700298.11,22872.2494
 Dublin Metropolitan 3,769296.01,83848.8847
 State13,567295.68,84965.23,970
     
BurglaryNorthern 2,474476.857723.3366
Western 2,375404.057024.0356
Southern 3,094356.61,07534.7661
Eastern 5,676735.195916.9540
South Eastern 3,594630.381322.6420
Dublin Metropolitan 10,920857.62,16119.81,437
 State28,133612.96,15521.93,780
Source: CSO

Interactive table: StatBank link

 

Comparing per capita figures for 2012, the Northern Region was the highest for recorded Assaults offences, with 353.1 offences per 100,000, while the Western Region had the lowest (253.5 per 100,000).

For 2012, almost 40% of Burglary offences were recorded in the Dublin Metropolitan Region.

4.3 Probation offender numbers and whether there was a re-offence within three years, 2007 and 2008 cohort
             
2007 cohort 2008 cohort 
Re-offence within three yearsRecidivism rate Re-offence within three yearsRecidivism rate Recidivism rate
  YesNoTotal% YesNoTotal% Absolute change
       
Total offenders1,7411,8213,56248.9 1,5432,2183,76141.0 - 7.9
           
Sex          
Male1,5421,5363,07850.1 1,3731,8883,26142.1 - 8.0
Female19928548441.1 17033050034.0 - 7.1
        
Male age group           
<181084815669.2 1429523759.9 - 9.3
18-247655861,35156.6 6778001,47745.8 -10.8
25-446137981,41143.4 5158541,36937.6 - 5.8
45-64559314837.2 3912216124.2 -12.9
65 +111128.3 017170.0 - 8.3
            
Female age group           
<181692564.0 19214047.5 -16.5
18-24719516642.8 5711617332.9 - 9.8
25-4410416026439.4 8116824932.5 - 6.9
45-648202828.6 12233534.3 +5.7
65 +0110.0 12333.3 +33.3
           
All persons age group           
<181245718168.5 16111627758.1 -10.4
18-248366811,51755.1 7349161,65044.5 -10.6
25-447179581,67542.8 5961,0221,61836.8 - 6.0
45-646311317635.8 5114519626.0 - 9.8
65 +112137.7 119205.0 - 2.7
           
Probation type       
Community service5777021,27945.1 4637421,20538.4 - 6.7
Probation order1,1641,1192,28351.0 1,0801,4762,55642.3 - 8.7
            
Probation referral offence           
01Homicide offences12333.3 16714.3 -19.0
02Sexual offences7253221.9 5293414.7 - 7.2
03Attempts or threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences16225341539.0 16927444338.1 - 0.9
04Dangerous or negligent acts659015541.9 6213419631.6 -10.3
05Kidnapping and related offences0220.0 0110.0 0.0
06Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences40498944.9 31427342.5 - 2.5
07Burglary and related offences1207319362.2 10310721049.0 -13.1
08Theft and related offences35533569051.4 32041573543.5 - 7.9
09Fraud, deception and related offences15385328.3 18304837.5 +9.2
10Controlled drug offences23133756840.7 21235556737.4 - 3.3
11Weapons and explosives offences524810052.0 586111948.7 - 3.3
12Damage to property and to the environment958017554.3 9711020746.9 - 7.4
13Public order and other social code offences43527470961.4 32941874744.0 -17.3
14Road and traffic offences (NEC)11414926343.3 7314722033.2 -10.2
15Offences against Government, justice procedures and organisation of crime485810645.3 578113841.3 - 4.0
16Offences not elsewhere classified17812.5 202100.0 +87.5
 Not stated0110.0 681442.9 +42.9
Source: CSO

In 2008, 3,761 individuals (cases) were placed on Probation orders or Community service orders. Of these, 1,543 (41.0%) re-offended within a three-year period, a fall of 7.9% between 2007 and 2008.  When considering age and sex, these trends were repeated. Recidivism among males fell by 8.0% to 42.1% in 2008 while female recidivism fell by 7.1% to 34.0% in the same period.  Falls in the recidivism rates were also observed across all age groups. 

 

Of the 1,543 individuals who re-offended, 40.3% did so within the first twelve months, while an additional 31.7% did so within 12 to 24 months of referral to the Probation Service.

Probation re-offenders by time period to first re-offence %
0<620.1
6<1220.2
12<1816.6
18<2415.1
24<3015.3
30<3612.7
4.4 Prisoner offender numbers and whether there was a re-offence within three years, 2007 and 2008 cohort
             
2007 cohort 2008 cohort 
Re-offence within three yearsRecidivism rate Re-offence within three yearsRecidivism rate Recidivism rate
  YesNoTotal% YesNoTotal%Absolute change
       
Total offenders2,2541,8204,07455.3 2,8022,6875,48951.0-4.3
          
Sex         
Male2,1051,6693,77455.8 2,5682,4154,98351.5-4.2
Female14915130049.7 23427250646.2-3.4
        
Male age group   
 <21 years32921254160.836526863357.7 -3.2
 21-256213921,01361.37836411,42455.0 -6.3
 26-3043229572759.45544541,00855.0 -4.5
 31-3529924854754.733532065551.1 -3.5
 36-4018716535253.123922546451.5 -1.6
 41-5017522339844.022733656340.3 -3.7
51-60479614332.95112317429.3 -3.6
61 +15385328.314486222.6 -5.7
    
Female age group         
 <21 years13132650.014203441.2 -8.8
 21-2539276659.1655111656.0 -3.1
 26-3027396640.9457111638.8 -2.1
 31-3543287160.6485310147.5 -13.0
 36-4011193036.730326248.4 11.7
 41-5011172839.326356142.6 3.3
51-60481233.3581338.5 5.1
61 +101100.012333.3 -66.7
   
All persons age group         
 <21 years34222556760.337928866756.8 -3.5
 21-256604191,07961.28486921,54055.1 -6.1
 26-3045933479357.95995251,12453.3 -4.6
 31-3534227661855.338337375650.7 -4.7
 36-4019818438251.826925752651.1 -0.7
 41-5018624042643.725337162440.5 -3.1
51-605110415532.95613118729.9 -3.0
61 +16385429.615506523.1 -6.6
            
Initial Imprisonment offence            
01Homicide offences5242917.2 16183447.1 29.8
02Sexual offences17739018.9 11637414.9 -4.0
03Attempts or threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences23716340059.3 25118243358.0 -1.3
04Dangerous or negligent acts14319033342.9 20330250540.2 -2.7
05Kidnapping and related offences881650.0 741163.6 13.6
06Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences43236665.2 18224045.0 -20.2
07Burglary and related offences1003013076.9 966215860.8 -16.2
08Theft and related Offences38319057366.8 44128372460.9 -5.9
09Fraud, deception and related offences28477537.3 357911430.7 -6.6
10Controlled drug offences12716329043.8 19220039249.0 5.2
11Weapons and explosives offences834012367.5 757214751.0 -16.5
12Damage to property and to the environment1468322963.8 16412428856.9 -6.8
13Public order and other social code offences44922267167 54929083965.4-1.5
14Road and traffic offences (NEC)24536460940 390715110535.3-4.9
15Offences against Government, justice procedures and organisation of crime1277720462 22410332768.56.2
16Offences not elsewhere classified11312323648 13016829843.6 -4.3
Source: CSO

In 2008, 5,489 individuals (cases) were released from the custody of the Irish Prison Service.  Of these, 2,802 (51.0%) re-offended within a three-year period, a decrease of 4.3% from the 55.3% recorded in 2007. This fall is also visible, when considering the demographics of offenders. Male re-offending fell from 55.8% to 51.5% between 2007 and 2008 while female re-offending rates fell from 49.7% to 46.2%.

Of the 2,802 individuals who re-offended, the great majority (1,809 or 64.6%) did so within the first six months of official release from custody.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prison re-offenders by time period to first re-offence %
0<664.6
6<1214.7
12<188.4
18<245.2
24<367.2

 

 

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