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.

However, an analysis by the Irish Examiner of the figures published by the Central Statistics Office highlights significant variations in crime rates on a county basis.

The increased level of crime in Sligo/Leitrim is largely attributed to a big rise in the number of thefts in the region, despite a general reduction in crime rates for most other offences.

The most significant decrease in reported offences occurred in Co Donegal, where crime levels fell by 15% in the past 12 months — more than twice the national average. The decline has propelled the county into having the second lowest crime rate in the Republic, with just 301 crimes per 10,000 population.

Mayo now has the lowest crime levels with 297 crimes per 10,000 population.

Dublin retains its position as Ireland’s crime capital with the highest per capita crime rate, followed by Limerick, Waterford, Louth and Westmeath. All other counties have crime levels below the national average of 504 offences per 10,000 population.

In addition to Donegal, Cavan/Monaghan saw its crime rates drop by 14%, while crime levels in Meath, Wexford and Wicklow declined by more than 10%.

Theft, the most common crime reported — accounting for one-third of all offences (excluding traffic offences) — continues to be a growing problem. There was a 4% increase in reported thefts over the past year.

Laois/Offaly has witnessed a staggering 25% increase in reported thefts, while large increases have also been recorded in Sligo/Leitrim and Tipperary (both +14%) and Kilkenny/Carlow (+12%).

Nationally, burglaries are down around 10%. However, the number of reported burglaries has been rising in some areas, including Tipperary and Westmeath (both up 17%) as well as Wexford (up 9%) and Waterford (up 8%).

Although the overall number of drug offences detected has fallen by 7% nationally, there have been big increases in drug-related crimes in several counties, especially Kildare, up 35%. There were also significant increases in Kerry (+23%), Roscommon/Longford (+18%) and Clare (+17%).

Nationally, crime rates for public order offences have continued to tumble – down 16% over the past 12 months. Above-average decreases for public order offences were recorded in Donegal, Kildare, Louth and Cavan/Monaghan.

The incidence of criminal damage offences also fell 11% on average, although increases were recorded in Waterford and Sligo/Leitrim.