THE REPUBLIC’S overall crime rate continued to fall last year despite increases in robbery, extortion and drug cultivation.
Crime data for 2010 reveals robbery, extortion and hijacking-related offences increased by 36 per cent in the last quarter of 2010. However, burglaries, which traditionally increase during recessions, fell by over 6 per cent.
Headline, or serious, crime declined by just over 5 per cent last year, according to the crime figures released yesterday by the Central Statistics Office. The data outlines trends for the last quarter of the year and also contains figures for the full year.
Minister for Justice Brendan Smith noted that while the number of total drugs offences was down by almost 10 per cent in the last quarter of 2010, there was a doubling of cases of cannabis cultivation and a 2 per cent increase in criminals being caught with drugs for sale or supply.
“I welcome this evidence of the success of continuing Garda operations against the producers and suppliers of substances which are so harmful to the individual and the community,” he said.
While sexual offences recorded a very significant increase last year, up 60 per cent across a range of offence types, Mr Smith said this came about because of a review by the Garda of old cases.
Fine Gael’s spokesman on justice Alan Shatter TD said the increase in robberies was disturbing but not surprising, given the recession and declining Garda numbers.
“With the economy in crisis and there having been a complete absence of leadership in tackling crime for the last two years, unscrupulous criminals will inevitably target vulnerable people.”
The murder rate dropped last year by two cases, to 54 cases.
While very serious crime, particularly those offences traditionally linked to organised crime, were down overall, there were some increases. For example, murder attempts and threats and related offences were down by 6 per cent overall but the specific offence of murder threat increased by 57 per cent, to 353 cases.
Drink-driving and drug-driving were both down, by 22 per cent and 39 per cent respectively.
Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences were up by 28 per cent.
Within that category, robberies on establishments or institutions were up by 5 per cent and robbery from the person was up by 48 per cent, to 1,942. Burglaries dropped by 6 per cent following increases in 2009 and 2008.
Overall, drugs offences were down by 9 per cent to 20,002 cases.
This represents a continuation of trends in the drugs sector since the recession began.
Gardaí believe drug crime is down because many recreational drugs-users no longer have the money to spend on cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis. However, there was a small increase, of just under 4 per cent, in the number of people caught with quantities of drugs intended for sale rather than personal consumption.
The most notable feature of drug crime during the year was the very significant increase in the number of cannabis-cultivation cases. These increased by 97 per cent, to 538 cases, last year.
Gun crime continued to fall, continuing the trends of the last two years. Cases of possession of a firearm were down by 1 per cent to 416 cases, while the illegal discharging of a firearm was down by 22 per cent, to 177 cases.
Public-order crime was down by almost 5 per cent to 54,687 cases.
The bulk of this was accounted for by the specific offence of disorderly conduct, down almost 5 per cent, to 47,136 cases.
