The number of people beaten or robbed more than doubled between 1998 and the end of last year, according to figures released today.
The Central Statistic Office (CSO) figures show that 5.2 per cent of people over the age of 18 reported in the fourth quarter of 2003 they had been a victim of "personal crime", compared to 2.4 per cent in the same period in 1998.
"Personal crimes" include theft with violence, theft without violence, or physical assault. It excludes domestic violence or sexual assault. The figures were compiled in the CSO's Quarterly National Household Survey.
Young people are more likely to have been the victim of personal crime, with 10.8 per cent of the 18-24 age group reporting they were victims compared to just 1.9 per cent in the 65+ age group. Men and non-nationals were more likely than women to have experienced a theft or an assault.
The incidence of crimes against property remained relatively unchanged over the same five-year period. In the fourth quarter of 2003, 11.7 per cent of all households indicated that they had been victims to varying degrees over the previous year.
This category includes burglary, theft of or from a vehicle, bicycle theft, or vandalism. The comparable figure five years previously was slightly higher at 12.1 per cent.
Burglaries are most common in Dublin and the Midlands, with the lowest rates reported in the West, South-West and Border regions.
Almost three out of five people rate the gardaí work at local level as either "good" or "very good." Just over 80 per cent of those surveyed in 2003 considered that crime was either a serious or very serious problem compared to 77 per cent in 1998.
Figures released by the Department of Justice yesterday show that "headline crime" was down 10 per cent in the second quarter of 2004 compared to the same period last year. Headline crimes are defined as "serious, indictable offences".
The figures, compiled by the Garda Commissioner, show a 4 per cent drop over the 12 months up to the end of June this year compared to the same period in 2003.
The total number of reported headline crimes in the past year was 99,526, compared to 104,028 in the previous 12 months.
The murder rate has dropped by 19 per cent in the last year. There were 52 murders in 2001 and 46 in 2003. There have been 17 murders in the first six months of this year, which is an annual rate of 34.
The number of assaults causing harm is also down 19 per cent, while arrests for drugs possession or sale are down 17 per cent.
However, the figures show an increase in the number of gun crimes in the past six months. Crimes involving the firing of weapons are up by 63 per cent and armed robberies of cash or goods from trucks and security vans are up by 15 per cent.
Rapes of women in the first six months of this year are up by 52 over the 190 reported in the first half of 2003, representing a 27 per cent rise.