CRIME LEVELS fell significantly across a wide range of offences during the second quarter of the year compared with the same period in 2010, new figures show.
The most dramatic decreases were for serious crimes such as kidnapping, homicide and sexual offences, which fell by 61 per cent, 39 per cent and 37 per cent respectively. But all 14 crime categories recorded by the Central Statistics Office showed falls in numbers.
Minister for Justice Alan Shatter welcomed the decreases, saying the figures were “very encouraging”.
Attempts or threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences fell 15 per cent in the second quarter of 2011 as against the same quarter in 2010. In addition, dangerous or negligent acts recorded fell by 26 per cent, while controlled drug offences were down 19 per cent, and public order offences dropped 17 per cent.
The figures show a dramatic decline in homicides – which include murder, manslaughter, infanticide and dangerous driving leading to death – with offences falling by 39 per cent to 14 incidents in the quarter, compared to 23 in the second quarter of 2010.
There were 10 murder and manslaughter offences in the second quarter of this year, compared to 13 similar incidents a year earlier.
On an annual basis, the number of homicides fell to 72 recorded incidents in the 12 months to the end of June 2011, from 72 incidents in the same period last year.
There were 416 recorded sexual offences compared to 667 in the same quarter last year. But the Central Statistics Office said this set of figures should be treated with caution, as there was a big rise in recorded sexual offences in 2010 because a review of cases involving alleged sexual offences led to reclassification of some crimes.
Robberies fell by 18 per cent to 394 in the second quarter of 2011, compared to 481 last year.
However, in the 12 months to the end of June 2011, there was a 12 per cent rise in robberies compared to the same period in 2010.
Non-aggravated burglaries fell by 1.6 per cent to 5,928 in the second quarter of 2011 compared to the same three-month period in 2010, while aggravated burglary offences increased by in excess of 8 per cent from 72 to 78 over the same period.
For the 12-month period, recorded burglary offences decreased by 3.8 per cent to 24,918.
Harassment and related offences fell by 28 per cent, from 569 in the second quarter of 2010 to 406 in the same quarter of this year, while assaults fell by 11 per cent, from 944 to 836.
However, on an annual basis, murder threats rose by 17 per cent from 312 to 367. The number of recorded dangerous or negligent acts committed fell by more than 26 per cent to 2,401 in the second quarter compared to the same three-month period a year earlier.
Most recorded offences in the group related to drink-driving offences. These fell by 23 per cent from 2,884 to 2,220.
Recorded fraud- and deception-related offences fell by 11 per cent between the second quarter of 2010 and the same quarter a year later, but were up 28 per cent on an annual basis.
In the second quarter of 2011, there were 4,445 controlled drug offences recorded, down 19 per cent from the same quarter last year. The number of weapons and explosives offences recorded fell by almost one-quarter from the second quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of this year.
Possession of firearm crimes were down over 25 per cent from 90 to 67.
Recorded arson offences decreased by 16 per cent in the second quarter of 2011, while public order offences were down by almost 18 per cent.
There were 1,831 offences against Government, justice procedures and organisation of crime recorded in the second quarter of 2011.
This was a fall of almost 40 per cent when compared with the same period in 2010.
Reported crime key statistics
10 murder and manslaughter offences in the second quarter of 2011, compared to 13 in the same period of 2010
18,947 theft and and related offences, compared to 20,050 in the same period last year
4,445 controlled drug offences, a fall of 19.1 per cent. There were 3,237 offences for possession of drugs
17 kidnapping offences compared with 44 in the same quarter of 2010