Beginning today in The Irish Times and on irishtimes.com Conor Lally Crime Correspondent and a number of other writers explore how the recession has impacted crime trends across the country.
We'll explore why crime peaked with the economy in the 2007-2008 period and, like the economy, has been in decline ever since. We examine most crime types from burglary to gun crime, sex offences, public order and the drugs trade.
We've secured the most comprehensive set of crime data ever collated, allowing you use our online tools to examine trends in the crimes reported to your local Garda station.
Crime, the fear of it and the media's reporting of it are always issues of much debate. We hope you'll have your say here on our analysis and our figures and in the coming days our writers will add to the debate as this week-long series unfolds.