There was a sharp rise in the number of recorded incidents of robbery, extortion and hijacking in the first quarter of the year, according to crime statistics published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The data show an 18 per cent increase to 2,572 instances of these offences while reported crimes involving weapons and explosives were up by 10 per cent to 2,844.
The number of thefts and related offences reported increased by 9 per cent to 75,825 incidents, with some 44 per cent of these related to stealing from shops.
A significant increase in cases of fraud, deception and related offences was also recorded, up 9 per cent to 11,479 incidents.
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As Ireland moves increasingly towards a cashless society, the number of incidents of fraud and deception reported has risen by 43 per cent on the level recorded in 2020.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said that an 11 percent increase in arson attacks can partly be attributed to an anti-immigrant sentiment among some in Irish society. The number of attacks increased from 1,420 to 1,572 between 2022 and 2023.
Speaking in Cork, Mr Harris said there was no doubt that such a sentiment was a “driver” for increases in arson attacks.
“Now I can’t say that the complete rise in those figures is all down to those incidents. But certainly that has been a driver for the increase we have seen over the last twelve months.”
He also acknowledged that he was apprehensive about the “huge amount of illicit drugs moving around the world.”
“Organised crime groups are always looking for a chink in the armour to move big amounts of commodity. So it is a concern that Ireland is being targeted in that way.
“But I would point to the work of our Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau. I would also point to the international collaboration we have in respect of trying to defeat the movement of drugs.”
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Helen McEntee, speaking at a conference on human trafficking in Cork, said there there has been a significant investment in An Garda Síochána to specifically tackle online fraud and crime, which has “exploded”.
Among those offence groups where recorded crime incidents fell, the most prominent were those against the Government, justice procedures and organised crime, which were down by 16 per cent. Sexual offences were down by 12 per cent and homicide and related offences were down by 8 per cent.
The number of incidents involving controlled drugs fell by 4 per cent year on year from 17,614 to 16,874.
The number of recorded crime incidents increased across all Garda regions for five out of the 14 offence categories in the first quarter of this year. Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences were up by almost a quarter (24 per cent) in the eastern areas (all counties of Leinster except Louth and Dublin) and by 21 per cent in the southern district (Munster counties except Waterford).
Theft and related offences had the largest rates of increase in the north western region (Connacht, Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth) where they were up by 18 per cent and the eastern region by 15 per cent. The smallest increase was in the Dublin Metropolitan region at 5 per cent.
The Dublin Metropolitan region (minus 5 per cent), Eastern region (minus 14 per cent) and Southern region (minus 13 per cent) had the largest falls in recorded sexual offences.
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