Decreases in crime welcomed

Crime in Ireland fell by 7.1 per cent over the course of 2013, statistics released by the Central Statistics Office indicate.

Minister for Justice Alan Shatter welcomed the decrease which occurred in the twelve months leading up to October: “We need to be vigilant, and not be under any illusions about the many difficulties and complexities in tackling crime, but it is clear that An Garda Síochána are confronting crime at all levels, and they continue to have my full support.”

In particular, he highlighted a 10.4 per cent reduction in burglaries and 5.2 per cent reduction in robberies. Operation Fiacla, the Garda’s effort to tackle those offences, has resulted in 7,341 arrests and 4,177 charges.

However, trends for certain serious and distressing offences were mainly unchanged. The number of homicides (73) remained constant and the number of sexual offences fell only slightly from 2,057 to 2,007. Thefts increased by 3.6 per cent, including thefts from the person and from shops.

Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan pointed to falls in weapons and explosives offences (9.2 per cent), controlled drug offences (6.7 per cent) and offences against the State (11.8 per cent). Those trends showed that “continuing efforts to dismantle all aspects of organised crime and subversive activity” were having a “definable benefit for the law-abiding citizens of the country who wish to live their lives in peace.”