The number of people caught drug dealing has risen by 40 per cent since 1998 while the number of people falling victim to crime has doubled, according to new data from the Central Statistics Office, writes Conor Lally, Crime Correspondent.
Fewer people are reporting crime, however. Rates of reporting vandalism, theft and assault were either below or about 50 per cent.
Senior CSO statistician Ger Healy said he believed a recent Supreme Court decision in a statutory rape case had possibly left victims less willing to report attacks.
He was referring to the CC case when statutory rape laws were struck down by the Supreme Court on the basis that a defence of honest mistake as to age was not available.
In the three months to the end of March the number of reported rapes of females fell by 37 per cent compared with the first quarter of 2006. Sexual assaults overall were down 51 per cent.
The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre said it was "very alarmed" at the figures, which were "far removed" from its experience. It called for legal reforms to encourage more victims to come forward.
The figures were contained in the CSO's statistics for serious crimes for the first quarter of the year published yesterday. Overall, serious crime decreased by 2.2 per cent in the 12 months to March 31st.
Confidence in the effectiveness of the Garda has also fallen according to a second CSO study, Crime and Victimisation Quarterly National Household Survey 2006.
Fifty-one per cent of people questioned by the CSO rated the work of gardaí in their area as "good" or "very good". In 2003 and 1998 the corresponding figures were 56 per cent and 63 per cent respectively.
Minister says resourcing, Garda reform paying off: page 3