This year we include extracts from the Crime and Victimisation Survey which is a household survey about crime in Ireland carried out by the CSO. Crime and Victimisation 2019 was part of the Health and Crime Survey, conducted via the CSO's General Household Survey (GHS) during Q2 and Q3 2019. Interviews took place during a six-month interviewing period between April and October 2019.
Respondents aged 18 years and over were asked to consider the period of 12 months prior to interview and to rate their response to a series of questions relating to the impact that crime has on their lives and their opinions on how effectively crime is dealt with in Ireland.
Respondents were then asked about their own personal experiences and the experiences of their household in terms of whether they had been the victim of different types of crime such as theft, assault or burglary in the 12 months prior to interview.
Finally, farming households were asked a short set of additional questions relating to specific types of crime which target farms such as trespassing on farm lands and thefts of farming machinery and livestock in the 12 months prior to interview.
Respondents were asked how safe they felt walking in their local area at night in the 12 months prior to interview. 75% of people aged 18 and over said they felt “very safe” or “fairly safe”. This feeling of safety was considerably lower for females (64%) than for males (87%). More than twice as many males than females reported feeling “very safe” (60% compared to 29%). Feelings of safety increased with decreasing levels of deprivation (69% in very disadvantaged areas compared to 78% in very affluent areas). People in Dublin expressed the highest levels of feeling either “a little unsafe” or “very unsafe”, at 28% of persons aged 18 and over, compared to 19% of persons aged 18 and over in the Border and West regions.
| Very safe | Fairly safe | A little unsafe | Very unsafe | |
| Male | 60 | 27 | 9 | 4 |
| Female | 29 | 35 | 22 | 14 |
| First quintile - very disadvantaged | 36 | 33 | 18 | 13 |
| Second quintile - disadvantaged | 46 | 30 | 16 | 9 |
| Third quintile - average | 46 | 31 | 15 | 9 |
| Fourth quintile - Affluent | 51 | 27 | 13 | 9 |
| Fifth quintile - Very affluent | 43 | 35 | 16 | 5 |
Interactive tables: Statbank
Link to publication: Crime and Victimisation 2019
Respondents were asked about how effectively they felt that An Garda Síochána were tackling crime both locally and at national level. Overall, over two thirds (68%) of persons aged 18 and over said that they felt the Gardaí were "very effective" (17%) or "quite effective" (51%) at tackling crime in their local area. Similar levels (64% of persons aged 18 and over indicating “very” or “quite” effective) were felt for crime at national level. One in ten (10%) said they felt An Garda Síochána were “not effective at all” locally, while 8% felt that An Garda Síochána were “not effective at all” nationally.
The proportion who felt that An Garda Síochána were “very effective” or “quite effective” both locally and at a national level was highest among persons aged 60 and over (72% locally and 66% at national level), whereas 65% of persons aged between 18 and 29 felt the Gardaí were “very effective” or “quite effective” at local level and again 65% feeling likewise at national level. The Mid-East region exhibited the lowest levels for feeling that the Gardaí were either “very effective” or “quite effective” (63% of persons aged 18 and over both locally and at national level), while the highest levels were in the South-East region (77% for local crime and 67% for national level crime).
| Very effective | Quite effective | Not very effective | Not effective at all | |
| Locally | 17 | 51 | 21 | 10 |
| Nationally | 10 | 54 | 27 | 8 |
Interactive tables: Statbank
Link to publication: Crime and Victimisation 2019
Respondents were asked about their own personal experiences of crime in the 12 months prior to interview and whether they had been the victim of a violent or non-violent theft or attempted theft, a physical assault or a fraud incident. For the purpose of this survey these crime types are referred to as ‘personal crime’.
The rate of victimisation for personal crime was higher among males (10%) than females (9%), and considerably higher among persons aged 18-29 (14%) than persons in older age groups (5% of persons aged 60 or above). People from very affluent areas (14%) reported being victims of personal crime more than people in more disadvantaged areas.
Looking at the different types of personal crime individually, victimisation rates for violent theft and non-violent theft or attempted theft were highest in the Dublin region (at 3% and 6% of persons aged 18 or over respectively) and among people in the 18-29-year age group (again 3% and 6% respectively). Persons in the 18-29-year age group also reported being the victims of assault (4%) considerably more than other age cohorts, 5% of people aged 30-44 and 5% of people aged 45-59 reported being victims of fraud which was higher than the rate of victimisation among people in other age cohorts.
Interactive tables: Statbank
Link to publication: Crime and Victimisation 2019
Respondents were asked about the experiences of their household in the 12 months prior to interview and whether the household had been the victim of burglary or vandalism, or attempt thereof. For the purpose of the survey, these crime types are referred to as ‘household crime’.
Households in the Dublin region were the most likely to be victims of household crime, with 6% of Dublin households saying they had suffered a burglary or theft. 5% of Dublin households were victims of burglary and 3% were victims of vandalism. The Border and West regions saw the lowest levels of household crime with 2% of households being victimised. Households in the most disadvantaged areas (5%) and the most affluent areas (5%) were more likely to experience household crime than households from other deprivation quintiles.
Respondents were asked whether they owned or had the use of a vehicle (car, motorbike, van or commercial vehicle) or a bicycle in the 12 months prior to interview and, if so, whether they had experienced crime in respect of the vehicle or bicycle.
Of vehicle users aged 18 and over, 3% said that there had been a theft or attempted theft of their vehicle in the 12-month period. In addition, 3% of vehicle users said that there had been a theft or attempted theft of an item from their vehicle. Bicycle owners aged 18 or over, 5% said that there had been a theft or attempted theft of their bicycle in the 12 months prior to interview.
The highest rates of victimisation for vehicle crime were found to be in Dublin, where 5% of vehicle users said there had been a theft or attempted theft of their vehicle, and 6% said there was a theft or attempted theft of an item from their vehicle. The lowest rates were found in the Midland region and Border region where victimisation rates were around 1%. The rate of victimisation for theft of bicycles was also considerably higher in Dublin (13% of bicycle users) than in other areas of the country.
| All vehicle users aged 18 and over who were victims of vehicle crime by type of crime and region, 2019 | State | Dublin |
|---|---|---|
| Theft of vehicle | 3 | 5 |
| Theft from vehicle | 3 | 6 |
| Theft of bicycle | 5 | 13 |
Interactive tables: Statbank
Link to publication: Crime and Victimisation 2019
Respondents in farming households were asked a series of additional questions relating to their experience of crimes specific to farms. The farming community are also represented in the national crime levels reported elsewhere in this publication.
Of the farming households surveyed, over a fifth (21%) said that a crime or crimes had been committed against the farm in the 12 months prior to interview. The crime most frequently reported was trespassing on farm land (18% of farming respondents). The next highest category of crime was theft of farm machinery (2% of farming respondents).
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