Press release
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee notes release of CSO crime stats for Q4 2021
Published on
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Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, has noted today’s publication of Recorded Crime Statistics for Q4 2021 by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) which indicate that while incidents of burglary and related offences continue to drop, reported fraud crime has more than doubled.
The statistics cover the 12-month period up to the end of December 2021.
Speaking about the latest statistics, the Minister said:
"The latest statistics from the CSO show welcome decreases in many categories of crime. While the continued decrease in incidents of burglary is heartening, as is the 50% reduction in homicides and related offences and the 26% reduction in controlled drug offences, the increase in fraud crime reminds us of the ongoing challenge faced by An Garda Síochána in tackling theft and other serious crime. This week is Fraud Awareness Week and I urge anyone interested in keeping themselves safe from this cruel crime to log on to the Garda website or social media pages for further information on Fraud Awareness.
"I also note the rise in sexual offences. Since coming into office, I have introduced a number of measures to help ensure our criminal justice system places the victim at the centre and which ensure protection and the best supports.
"I hope that this increase in reported sexual offences in part reflects an increase in the number of people coming forward to report these crimes which I strongly encourage."
The Minister notes that while the opening up of society post-COVID is to be welcomed, there is a need to be vigilant and mindful of the potential opportunities for criminal activity that the opening up of our society may offer.
A decrease in property crime continued through to the end of 2021. Operation Thor, the winter phase of which was launched by An Garda Síochána in October 2021, is designed specifically to tackle to egregious crime of burglary throughout the winter months.
Overall, burglary and related offences were down 21.1% on 2020. This continues the downward trajectory of these crimes with overall burglary figures down more than 67% since 2015.
The Minister said:
"As welcome as this decrease is, we have to remember that the statistics for 2021 cover a period when there were public health restrictions in place and people were necessarily at home more.
"The crime of burglary is, by its very nature, invasive and it preys on the confidence and safety of us all in the very place where we should all feel safe, our own homes.
"I want to commend the extraordinary efforts of An Garda Síochána in relation to Operation Thor.
"I urge everyone to please exercise caution and follow the simple crime prevention advice which An Garda Síochána provides to communities at garda.ie/en/crime-prevention/ in order to keep people safe and keep crime numbers low."
Fraud crime more than doubled in 2021 with fraudulent texts and emails becoming an almost daily occurrence for many people.
Speaking about the increase in fraud offences the Minister said:
"I note with concern the continuing rise in incidents of fraud. It is an unwelcome reality that the technology advances that have benefited our society have also created new opportunities for those who seek to engage in fraud and criminality. Tackling and preventing fraud is of crucial importance to Ireland and to the wider international community."
The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau proactively engages with telecommunications providers to suspend VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) numbers which are suspected of being used to commit fraud and it is the experience of An Garda Síochána that telecommunication companies based in Ireland will provide assistance in the suspension of such numbers upon notification that they are being used to commit fraud offences. I urge people to notify the Gardaí if they are contacted by someone they suspect to be trying to defraud them.
Both the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau continue to engage with telecommunications service providers to identify those persons involved.
This week is Fraud Awareness Week and An Garda Síochána are publishing helpful information every day in order to support people to make safe choices and to avoid being victimised. Further information can be found at the Garda website and social media platforms.
Minister McEntee notes that today’s release has shown a 12% increase in reported sexual offences.
The Minister’s commitment to create a more victim centred criminal justice system and to support victims of sexual violence is evident in the prioritisation of the work to implement in full Supporting a Victim’s Journey. The Minister has, since its publication, stated it is a living document to which actions can be added as additional or emerging issues requiring reform are brought to her attention.
The Minister is taking further action in her Justice Plan 2022, and will also publish the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender based violence in the coming weeks.
The Minister said:
"Justice Plan 2022 outlines 159 actions to continue building a justice system that works for everyone and is the latest in a series of annual plans to build on reforms underway in my department.
"It includes continued action on domestic, sexual and gender based violence, such as prioritising the introduction of new specific criminal offences of stalking and non-fatal strangulation.
"Work is also continuing on the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender based violence, which is a whole of government plan I am leading to achieve zero tolerance of this type of violence and abuse."
To date, a number of key actions have been delivered as part of implementing Supporting a Victim’s Journey including:
Key areas of the trial process that were identified as being traumatic for victims and survivors of sexual violence are being examined to ensure victims and survivors are not victimised further by the processes they need to go through to seek the justice they deserve.
Minister McEntee is also leading work on a new whole of government strategy to combat domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. This new plan will have a particular focus on prevention, and on ensuring victims are better supported.
It is the Minister’s intention to publish the final strategy and accompanying action plan in the coming weeks.
The full statistics can be accessed at: www.cso.ie
An Garda Síochána has been allocated an unprecedented budget of €1.952 billion for 2021. Budget 2022 provides over €2 billion in funding. This level of funding is enabling sustained, ongoing recruitment of Garda members and staff. As a result, there are now approximately 14,400 Garda members and over 3,300 Garda staff nationwide.
In early 2018, the CSO announced its decision to resume publication of recorded crime statistics in the first six months of 2018. However, as PULSE data – on which the CSO is wholly dependent - is subject to a number of separate ongoing quality reviews and concerns that extended beyond just homicide data, the CSO made the decision that recorded crime statistics will be published in a new category entitled: “Under Reservation”.
According to the CSO, the classification of “Under Reservation” is in keeping with other jurisdictions and other statistical domains. This indicates that, while the statistics have been determined to be of sufficient quality to allow publication, ongoing issues mean that the quality does not yet meet the higher standard required of official statistics by the CSO.
The CSO is engaging with An Garda Síochána to set out the criteria for the lifting of the reservation. These criteria are not confined to homicide data but will address quality concerns across a broader range of issues. They will address issues such as data governance, training, crime data recording procedures and the auditing and monitoring of data quality.