Kidnapping rise driven by human trafficking

OFFENCES:A NEW analysis of crime between 2005 and 2009 shows a dramatic increase in the number of kidnapping offences.

A report published by the Central Statistics Office yesterday Garda Recorded Crime Statistics 2005-2009, paints a picture of an increasingly violent society, with a sharp rise in attempted murders as well as drugs, firearms and explosives offences.

Kidnapping offences rose by 97 per cent, while drug offences rose significantly (65 per cent), as did weapons and explosives offences (59 per cent), and murder threat and assault (23 per cent).

The dramatic rise in kidnapping offences from 74 in 2005 to 146 in 2009 can be attributed largely to the addition of a new offence of human trafficking in 2008. Seven such offences were recorded in that year, 49 in 2009.

Some of the few areas in which recorded crimes decreased were homicide offences (30 per cent) and sexual offences (18 per cent).

Of the 146 kidnapping offences recorded in 2009, 84 involved false imprisonment, 13 related to abduction of a young person, and the remaining 49 related to human trafficking.

In the area of homicides, one third of those convicted were young men aged under 25 years of age. Most homicides occurred within the greater Dublin area.

The northern Garda region recorded the highest incidence of assaults and harassment in 2009, while the Dublin metropolitan region has the highest incidence of murder threats and attempts.

The rate of robbery in the Dublin area is twice the national average, while the lowest rate is in the west of the country.