MORE THAN 90 per cent of those prosecuted are convicted in the courts, according to the DPP's annual report, published today.
It also shows a slight increase in the number of files processed by the office, up to 15,514 from 15,173 the previous year.
Of the files examined in the DPP's office, one in three does not result in any prosecution being brought, another third is dealt with summarily in the District Court, and a third results in a prosecution in the Circuit or Central Criminal Court before a judge and jury.
The main reason for deciding not to prosecute was insufficient evidence (83 per cent of cases), followed by the public interest (seven per cent).
The remaining 10 per cent were not prosecuted for reasons that included the juvenile diversion programme, undue delay, the time limit expired and sympathetic grounds (1 per cent).
Most prosecutions on indictment took place in Dublin, with 1.26 such prosecutions for every 1,000 population. It was followed by Waterford, with 0.85 prosecutions per 1,000; Limerick with 0.79; Louth with 0.75 and Cork with 0.72 per thousand. The counties with the least indictable prosecutions were Carlow (0.25 per 1,000); Galway, Offaly and Sligo (each 0.29 per 1,000).
The outcomes of the cases sent forward for prosecution in 2007 are generally not known, as the majority of them have yet to be heard. However, the report contains the outcomes of the cases sent forward in the three preceding years, which show that 92 per cent of the cases heard in 2006 resulted in a conviction following a guilty plea.
A further 4 per cent were convicted by a jury, which means that there is a conviction rate of 96 per cent. The remaining 4 per cent were acquitted by a jury or by direction of the trial judge.
In 2005 88 per cent of the indictments resulted in a guilty plea, up from 86 per cent in 2004. In 2005 a jury convicted 6 per cent, and 7 per cent in 2004. The acquittal rate, by a jury or by direction of the trial judge, was 6 per cent in 2005 and 7 per cent in 2004.
The report breaks down the figures into those heard in the Circuit Criminal Court, the Central Criminal Court and the Special Criminal Court. It shows that in the Circuit Criminal Court there were four cases of fatal accident at work and five of manslaughter in 2006, all of which ended in conviction.
Ninety-eight per cent of the crimes against property, 99 per cent of road traffic offences and 86 per cent of sexual offences prosecuted ended in conviction. The largest group of sexual offences was sexual assault, and the conviction rate was 82 per cent, while it was 100 per cent for child pornography, buggery and sex with an underage girl.
There were relatively few cases prosecuted in the Special Criminal Court, with six convictions on a plea and one acquittal of membership of an illegal organisation in 2006. There was one conviction also for possession of firearms.
In the Central Criminal Court 115 cases were brought forward in 2006, of which 32 were murder charges and 64 were rape. Ten of the former and 29 of the latter were still for hearing at the end of the year.
Of the remainder, there were nine convictions for murder and 10 convictions for the lesser charge of manslaughter. There were three acquittals of murder.
Twenty-seven of the 35 rape cases heard resulted in convictions, of which 19 were pleas of guilty. Five of those charged were acquitted by the jury and one by direction of the trial judge. Two were otherwise disposed of.
Of the cases finalised, and including convictions on a lesser charge than that originally brought, the conviction rate for murder was 86 per cent in 2006, the same as 2005 and down slightly from 90 per cent in 2004; for rape the conviction rate was 82 per cent, down slightly from the 85 per cent in 2005, and close to the 81 per cent in 2004.
There was a 100 per cent conviction rate for attempted rape and for aggravated sexual assault in each of the last three years for which figures are available.