Crime rate down 7% across country

Sligo and Leitrim are the only two counties to have recorded an increase in general crime levels over the past year.

Crime rates in the two north-west counties, which are part of the same Garda division, rose by 2% at a time when they have been falling elsewhere.

Garda figures for the 12 months to Sept 2013 show that recorded crime fell by 7.1% on average across the country.