Crime figures for the first three months of the year are down by 11 per cent on the same period last year, according to Garda figures published this evening.
Sexual assault figures are down by a third, while murder and manslaughter fell by a quarter in the first three months of the year, the provisional figures show.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell
Murder and manslaughter are down by 25 per cent, assault causing harm is down by 15 per cent, and sexual offences overall showed a reduction of 33 per cent in the quarter, according to the report.
Robberies of cash and goods in transit showed a drop of more than 40 per cent, despite a number of recent high-profile and high-cash-value robberies.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell published the first-quarter crime figures this afternoon. The provisional statistics also show a decrease of 7 per cent in crime for the 12 months to the end of March 2005 compared to the same 12-month period last year.
Mr McDowell welcomed the overall trend of a reduction in "headline" crime (down in 20 of the 25 categories) as reflected in the figures but warned all those involved in the "fight against crime" to guard against complacency.
He said any reduction in crime, and the effects of crime on society, can only be achieved through the close co-operation of all those involved in the ongoing fight against crime.
The support given by the community to the gardaí is vital in building on the successes already achieved in the drive to reduce even further the levels of crime, the Minister said.
"I am pleased to see reductions of 11 per cent in the level of headline crime in the first quarter of this year and of 7 per cent in the year ending 31 March. Such a reduction in crime is to be welcomed by all those concerned with the ongoing fight against crime," he said.
According to the figures, there were nine violent deaths in the first three months of the year, compared to 12 in the same quarter of 2004. There were 44 violent deaths in the year to the end of March, compared to 46 the previous year.
"While murder and manslaughter are the most serious of crimes and their effects on the families and friends of victims can never be fully comprehended by most of us, we should not lose sight of the fact that this country has an extremely low homicide rate," Mr McDowell said.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell
The numbers of burglaries and aggravated burglaries reported in the first quarter of the year dropped by 6 per cent and 13 per cent respectively and cases of robbery of cash/goods in transit were down by 43 per cent.
Mr McDowell said that while the reduction in such robberies was welcome, the level of such crimes and the value of cash stolen was "unacceptably high".
"I am determined that security arrangements in place, in particular of cash in transit, meet international best practice. The economy and the State cannot be expected to pay for any failure to do so."
The most serious categories of theft from the person, theft from a vehicle and theft from a shop showed decreases in the first quarter of 31 per cent, 11 per cent and 4 per cent respectively, the provisional figures state.