Murders, kidnappings, robberies and drugs offences are on the increase according to the latest crime figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
While there was a drop in some offences recorded in the 12 months to the end of June this year, many of the most serious crimes showed significant increases on the same time last year.
The number of murders increased by one third from 45 to 60 for the twelve month period ending in June 2014. Over the same period, kidnapping and related offences rose by more than 30 per cent to 132 recorded offences.
Robberies and drugs offences both increase by 1.9 per cent. The total number of robberies was 2,827 up to the end of June, but the increase was due to a rise in “robbery from the person” or muggings. These robberies rose by 5.5 per cent to 1,748. Falls were seen in robbery of an establishment or institution (-3.5 per cent) while robbery of cash or goods in transit offences fell by 2.9 per cent over the same period.
There were 300 additional drugs offences in the 12 month period , an increase of 1.9 per cent bringing the number of recorded drugs crimes to 15,699. Most of these offences were for possession of drugs for personal use, which showed an increase of 2.2 per cent to 11,301.
The most significant reduction was in the number of public order offences which fell by more than 13 per cent from 39,570 to 34,358. Other crimes which showed a decrease were weapons and explosives offences down 10.6 per cent, damage to property and to the environment down 8.7 per cent, and sexual offences down 5.8 per cent.
Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan said the increase in murders was a matter of concern, but noted the majority of murders recorded were not related to organised crime.
“We have a strong record of successful detections of murders and several arrests have already been made in relation to the murders committed in Q2 [the second quarter of the year],” she said.
“The majority of the murders in Q2 were not attributable to organised crime. However, we remain strongly focused on tackling organised crime in all its forms as we know at first-hand the devastation it brings to communities.”
A key concern for many people was crime that impacts on their daily lives, she said.
“As such, I welcome the reduction in damage to property and public order . It is also good to see a 9 per cent decrease in the dangerous and negligent acts category, which has largely been driven by a fall in dangerous driving over the alcohol limit. We continue to appeal to all road users to act responsibly, slow down and never drink and drive.”
