The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr Michael McDowell, T.D., today published the provisional headline crime statistics for the first quarter of 2006 furnished by the Garda Commissioner. The statistics show an increase of 8% for the quarter compared with the same quarter in 2005. He also published the figures for the past year (April 2005 - March 2006), which show an increase of 7% compared with the period April 2004 - March 2005.
The Minister said: "The quarter's figures paint a mixed picture. Of the 25 headline offences, 13 recorded decreases and 12 recorded increases. The rate of increase for this quarter is less than that for the last quarter of 2005 (when it was 10.2%), and the quarter shows an increase of 1.4% on the last quarter of 2005. I am determined that disturbing trends will be curbed and, despite an increasing population, we should continue to enjoy relatively low crime rates."
Most of the increase which has taken place is accounted for by offences against property. The Minister said that while these crimes generally did not involve violence no-one should underestimate the misery and distress which they cause - particularly the offence of burglary where the fact that a person's home has been invaded often causes at least as much distress as the loss of property.
The Minister has been informed by the Garda Commissioner that Regional Garda Commissioners and Divisional Chief Superintendents have been directed to pay particular attention to devising strategies to counteract these crimes in their areas by targeting, tracking down and bringing to justice persistent offenders. To this end, a series of special operations have been undertaken in recent weeks which are already showing some success.
In this context the Minister, having reviewed expenditure trends across his Department's Votes, has informed the Commissioner that a further Euro10 million can be allocated to special Garda operations tackling specific forms of crime including burglaries and other offences. It has to be emphasised that this amount is for additional targeted operations and comes at a time when Garda resources are already at unprecedented levels.
There has been a decrease in the quarter in each of the five sexual crimes categories, which show an overall decrease of 36%. In particular, there have been significant decreases in the offences of sexual assault (down 42%), unlawful carnal knowledge (down 32%) and rape of a female (down 20%).
"I am pleased to note that there have been decreases in the two categories of robbery of cash/goods in transit and robbery of an establishment/institution (down 38% and 7% respectively). Unfortunately recent incidents show that there is still work to be done in this area, and I continue to support fully the continuing work of the Private Security Authority.
I am also pleased to note that there has been an increase in detecting the offence of possession of firearms (up 8%) and a reduction in the offence of discharging a firearm (down 8%). Operation Anvil has contributed significantly to this encouraging development. From the introduction of Operation Anvil to 6 April, 377 firearms have been seized, which has a corresponding effect on their level of use. To date, Operation Anvil has resulted in more than 2,100 arrests for serious crimes, including murder and serious assaults. Following my request to the Commissioner, Operation Anvil has been extended nationwide. This has already resulted in a number of arrests, the seizure of a substantial quantity of drugs and ammunition and the targeting of criminals who travel to parts of the country to commit burglaries and other offences.
I am particularly concerned at the increase in the level of murders. While the detection rate for murders remains in general high, the rise in gangland killings and the lower level of detection for them remains a cause of concern. I am happy to note that no cases of manslaughter were recorded for the quarter.
Over the past three years since I initiated the publication of crime statistics on a quarterly basis, I have consistently emphasised that care must be taken in interpreting the statistics, especially when considering short term fluctuations and extrapolating trends over short periods."
The Minister noted that the level of headline crime per capita in the twelve month period April 2005 to March 2006 is still significantly lower than that in 1995. "It should be borne in mind that any interpretation of the crime figures should factor in the increase in our population in the past 10 years. In 1995, with a population of almost 3.6 million people, there were 29 crimes per 1,000 of the population. In the most recent period for which figures are available and which I am releasing today (April 2005 - March 2006), with a population of over 4.1 million, there was the equivalent of 25.03 crimes per 1,000 of the population."
Increase in Garda Numbers and Resources
There has been a considerable increase of the personnel strength of the Garda Síochána since June 1997 - from 10,702 to 12,445 on 20 March. This represents an increase of 1,743 (or 16.3%) during the period.
The timescale for achieving the target strength of 14,000 members of the Garda Síochána in line with the commitment in the Agreed Programme for Government remains as when I announced Government approval in October 2004 for my proposals to achieve this objective. The phased increase in the strength of An Garda Síochána to 14,000 will lead to a combined strength of both attested Gardaí and recruits in training of 14,000 by the end of this year. This project is fully on target and will be achieved.
As part of the accelerated recruitment campaign to facilitate this record expansion, 1,125 Garda recruits were inducted to the Garda College during 2005. The College will induct a further 1,100 recruits this year and again in 2007, by way of intakes to the Garda College of approximately 275 recruits every quarter. The first incremental increase of newly attested Gardaí under the programme of accelerated recruitment took place on 15 March, 2006. As these resources continue to become available, they obviously will play a key role in the frontline fight against crime.
Legal Changes
The minister said that he would continue to give priority to his comprehensive programme of criminal law reform including the Criminal Justice Bill. "The powers contained in that Bill will substantially enhance the ability of An Garda Síochána to tackle crime. But it is also important that current legislation is used in full, and in that context I would emphasise the importance of applying the curbs on bail which were introduced to deal specially with the problem of persistent offenders."
Crime Statistics 1st Quarter 2006
13 April, 2006