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VIOLENCE CONCERN
Fears Ireland in grips of crime epidemic as shock stats reveal worrying murders trend amid ‘law and order’ warning
- Published: 18:15, 25 Sep 2023
- Updated: 18:15, 25 Sep 2023
THE number of murders has nearly doubled in the past 12 months, new figures show.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) today published crime statistics for the year up to the end of June.
There were 71 killings in the first six months of 2023 compared to the same period last year – an increase of 17 or 31 per cent.
Murders, which increased from 24 to 47 incidents, contributed to nearly all of this increase.
The figures also show there were 21 per cent – or 410 more robbery, extortion and hijacking offences – to a total of 2,328 incidents so far this year.
Meanwhile, theft and related offences are up 25 per cent compared to the same period last year, with 71,284 incidents recorded.
Theft from shops, which contributed to nearly half of this increase, was up by 27 per cent over the year.
However fraud, deception and other related offences were down 37 per cent to 10,300 incidents.
The CSO said this was “mostly due to a fall in incidents of unauthorised transactions and attempts to obtain personal or banking information online or by phone”.
There was also a small fall in attempts or threats to murder, assaults and harassments, down 2 per cent on the first six months of last year.
The CSO’s Jim Dalton, Statistician in the Crime & Criminal Justice Section, added: “Burglary and fraud crimes showed the largest rate of change between 2019 and 2023.
“The number of crime incidents classed as burglary & related offences fell by 46 per cent to 9,004 in Q2 2023 from the 16,583 recorded in the year to Q2 2019.
“By contrast, recorded incidents of fraud, deception & related offences increased by 41 per cent from 7,304 in the year to Q2 2019 to 10,300 in the year to Q2 2023.
‘NO SURPRISE’
“In the intervening period, the number of incidents of this crime reached a high of 16,223 in the 12 months to Q2 2022. The rate of change for all other offence types were below 20 per cent.”
He added that the data for 2020 and 2021 “are likely to have been influenced by the public health restrictions imposed as a result of Covid-19”.
Aontu Leader Peadar Toibín said: “It’s of no surprise to anyone that violent crime is on the increase. Garda numbers and morale are on the floor.
“It’s beyond time that the Minister for Justice started to focus on what is the key element of her portfolio: justice and law and order.”
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