Future of unarmed gardaí under threat

OVERALL serious crime has fallen this year - but the numbers of shootings, rapes and burglaries have jumped, according to new figures.

Justice Minister Michael McDowell welcomed the overall drop, but said if the rise in shootings continued it would threaten the future of an unarmed police force.

Provisional statistics for the first quarter of 2003, compared to the same period in 2002, show there were: