Reports of domestic violence have seen a continued rise according to provisional crime statistics up to the end of June, gardai have said.
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has sent provisional crime statistics up to the end of June to the Policing Authority. According to the data, there has been "a continued increase" in reports of domestic violence, with 13% more incidents attended by Gardai in the first half of 2022 compared with last year.
Instances of rape also saw a jump of almost a quarter, with sexual assaults dropping by 5%. Gardai say the increase in sexual offences could be attributed to a change in reporting behaviour, with victims now more likely to report such crimes.
Read more: Mountjoy prison thug 'danced' on body of injured inmate in horrific attack
Crimes against the person saw a minor decline in the first six months of the year, though murders were still up by 7%. Reports of attempted murder fell by a quarter when compared with last year, while assaults causing harm and minor assaults were both up by a third.
Provisional Garda statistics for the first six months of the year show that although fraud offences are down 2% on 2021 numbers for the same period. However, they remain 92% higher compared to the first half of 2019.
Gardai said that “significant increases” continue in online fraud, such as account takeover fraud which is up 128% on last year. Blackmail and extortion offences have increased by 32% on the same period last year, and by 227% on 2019 figures.
The statistics show the level of property crime increased across nearly all crime types in this period. Reported burglaries were up a third on 2021, though the trend is headed downwards over the long term, with that trend attributed to the success of Operation Thor and the lockdowns of the pandemic.
Assault causing harm was up 34% on the first half of 2021 and up 14% on the same period in 2019. Although harassment, stalking and threats were down 5% on the comparable period in 2021, incidents are up 17% on 2019.
Thefts from a person were up 164% on 2021, but remain 46% lower on 2019 figures. Property crime increased across nearly all crime types in the first half of the year compared with 2021 – with burglaries up 33% and theft from a vehicle up 17% on last year. However, these rates are generally lower than 2019 figures.
During the first half of 2022 the number of fatal road collisions also increased by 62% (up 30% on 2019 figures), with serious road collisions increasing by 11%. There has also been a 17% increase in drink driving incidents on 2021, which is also up 5% on 2019 figures.
More than 4,000 drivers have been arrested so far this year for such offences, Gardai said. Meanwhile, drugs and weapons offences are also down on last year.
The quantity of drug detections has reduced by 30% on 2021, but the volume of seized drugs has increased, with drugs valued at more than 37 million euro seized up to the end of June, according to Gardai.
These are provisional figures from the Garda Pulse system. They are sent to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) for verification and publication of the official crime statistics.
Read Next:
- Dubliner arrested in UK for 'causing anxiety' by retweeting Pride flag swastika meme speaks out
- Massive drugs sting sees €700,000 worth of cannabis seized in south Dublin
- Man arrested after €50,000 worth of 'cocaine and cannabis' seized in Dublin raid
- Tesla, classic luxury cars, watches and cash seized in major sting across four counties
- Gardai renew appeal for help to solve 1987 murder of Clondalkin mum-of-two
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.
