Burglaries of houses and business premises have declined to the lowest level in more than two decades, according to Garda figures for 1999, due to be published today. The crime of burglary, which reached epidemic proportions in the 1980s and early 1990s, is taken as a yardstick by senior gardai. It is associated with professional criminals who tend to commit several offences each week. According to the statistics in the 1999 Garda Crime Report, burglaries of houses declined to 7,114 and burglaries of business to 10,282, a total of 17,396.
The statistics indicate that burglary has declined by almost 50 per cent since 1994, when there were 32,740 burglaries. The most significant decline, however, occurred since 1998, when there were 25,730 reported burglaries.
Senior Garda sources point out that the rapid decline in this type of crime in recent years coincides with the implementation of the Government's expansion of the prison service. This has reduced the numbers of prisoners granted early release under the `revolving door' system. According to official figures, the prison population in July 1997 was 2,470; in July this year, it was 3,009. The number of prisoners freed early because of lack of accommodation in July 1997 was 529; the number on temporary release in July this year is down to 219. The removal, earlier this year, of the automatic right to bail is also said to be contributing to a further reduction in the number of burglaries.
Garda sources say the reduction in the number of burglaries can be directly attributed to the fact that professional burglars, who could previously depend on automatic bail and then early release, are now spending more time in prison.
The annual Garda crime report is expected to show reductions in serious crimes such as armed robbery and aggravated burglary to levels not seen since the 1970s.
However, it does indicate that less serious crimes such as car theft are persisting at high levels. The number of cars stolen in 1999 (14,851) is marginally up on 1998 when 13,793 vehicles were stolen. Levels of juvenile crime are also persisting at high levels, with 15,003 arrests of persons under 18 in 1998 and 14,948 arrests in 1999.
The number of less serious crimes, like larceny, theft of vehicles, pickpocketing and criminal damage is down only slightly, from 452,000 offences in 1998 to 413,000 in 1999.
Robberies committed against tourists continued to decline. Some 2,463 tourists reported larcenies in 1999 compared with 3,429 in 1998.
Drug arrests rose during 1999 as the Garda in Dublin implemented its "Clean Streets" campaign against dealers. There were 7,137 arrests in 1999 compared with 5,621 in 1998.
The amount of heroin seized in 1999 is given as 17,000 grams compared with 38,000 grams in 1998. Slightly more cannabis (251 kilos) was seized in 1999 than in 1998 (215 kilos).
Senior Garda sources say it is likely that offences committed by professional, adult criminals will continue to reduce as prison accommodation is increased and as the Government implements further criminal justice legislation.