CSO finds crime rate 30% higher than Garda records

Actual crime figures for 2011 were around 30% higher than official statistics, estimates indicate.

The failure of gardaí to record or classify these crimes meant that almost 75,000 offences were not captured in figures for that year.

The Central Statistics Office said it was “extremely concerned” at the level of non-recording and misclassification of crime — and warned it would repeat its audit every year to see if the situation has improved.