SERIOUS CRIME in the Republic continued to fall last year, although burglaries have bucked the trend. Theft and fraud offences also increased.
However, every other category of crime decreased, including drug and gun crime, murder, homicide, public disorder and sexual offences.
Minister for Justice Alan Shatter noted the decrease of 26 per cent in the murder rate, saying this reflected a decrease in gang violence amid increased Garda enforcement.
He welcomed the fact that of the 14 categories of crime compiled in the Central Statistics Office 2011 crime figures published yesterday, 11 showed reductions.
In the “burglary and related offences” category, the trend was 8 per cent higher, resulting in a total of 27,439 cases last year. Mr Shatter said the increase underlined the need for homeowners to be vigilant.
He said Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan had assured him new burglary operations were aimed at catching suspects and prosecuting them.
“It is, of course, also important that the general public puts into practice the excellent crime-prevention advice provided by the Garda.”
The number of aggravated burglaries last year was static at 333 cases. An aggravated burglary is one where a weapon or the threat of a weapon is used.
The crime of possessing an article with intent to burgle increased 24 per cent to 632 cases.
The main offence of burglary was up 7.7 per cent to 26,474 cases, or 73 offences per day.
Garda sources said they were not surprised that gun and drug crime continued to fall last year. Many senior officers have linked the trend to the recession, saying recreational drug-users’ spending power had been hit in recent years. This, they believe, has led to a contracting in the drugs trade, resulting in the lower number of drugs offences last year.
The same sources believe gun crime has also fallen because it is so closely linked to drug crime.
Overall, drugs offences were down by 11.5 per cent to 17,709 cases.
Firearms and explosives cases were down by 15.3 per cent, within which discharging a firearm fell by 6.8 per cent to 165 cases and possessing a firearm fell by 29 per cent to 296 cases.
Sexual offences fell by 13.5 per cent, with rapes down just over 1 per cent to 474 cases.
Homicides were down 29 per cent, with murders dropping 26 per cent to 39 cases and manslaughter cases down from five cases in 2010 to three cases last year.
Public order offences fell by 11 per cent to 49,015 cases, with many gardaí believing this fall is linked to the decline in the pub and nightclub trades.
