Crime figures were increased "very substantially" by thefts from shops, yet some shop owners were not bothering to protect their premises, Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said yesterday.
He said the number of thefts from shops was one of the greatest areas of concern for Garda management when the latest crime statistics were reviewed.
Of the 24,373 headline crimes committed between April and June this year, more than 20,000 related to some form of theft or burglary.
"Garda management are very concerned that a number of retail chains are not taking adequate steps to protect their own stock," Mr McDowell said.
"Some of them, large places with substantial value goods in them, have no security guards whatsoever."
Fine Gael justice spokesman Jim O'Keeffe said it was " disingenuous" for Mr McDowell to blame the 12 per cent increase in thefts from shops on the lax security measures of retailers.
"This is exactly the sort of buck-passing we have come to expect from the Minister, who refuses to take responsibility for anything that goes wrong. And the 7 per cent increase in thefts from vehicles confirms the large number of reports that Fine Gael has received of cars being increasingly targeted by criminals," he said.
The latest figures show that the number of headline crimes fell by 1 per cent between April and June this year, compared with the same period last year. The number of crimes fell by 8 per cent when compared with the first three months of this year. However, the number of murders rose from 12 in the first quarter of this year to 16 in the second quarter - a 33 per cent increase. Twenty-eight people have been murdered this year, up to the end of June.
Mr McDowell said the recent spate of gangland killings was "wholly unacceptable" and showed there were ruthless people with "no value at all for human life".
Mr McDowell said it was important to note that more serious crimes were committed 10 years ago and the population is much larger now.
He denied being complacent but said "we shouldn't draw the conclusion that we are fighting a losing battle. We're not, it's a constant battle."
Some 138 rapes and 421 sexual assaults have been recorded for the first six months of this year. The number of reported sexual crimes fell in the past three months, but Mr McDowell said he had "no doubt" that sexual crime was being under-reported, so it was difficult to say if the reduction was explained by fewer sexual crimes or by the under-reporting of crimes.
Labour Party justice spokesman Brendan Howlin said crime levels in the Republic remained "unacceptably high. As a result, families and elderly people feel much more vulnerable in homes and communities than they did only a few years ago".
Mr McDowell also pointed out that the Criminal Justice Bill would be signed into law in the coming days.
