Sharp increase in murders disturbing - McDowell

The sharp increase in the murder rate for the first three months of this year is very disturbing, Justice Minister Michael McDowell said today.

There were 12 murders between January and March, compared to seven for the same period last year.

Mr McDowell said he was very concerned about this 71% increase.

“While the detection rate for murders remains in general high, the rise in gangland killings and the lower level of detection for them remains a cause of concern,” he said.

He said that although the figures included four gun murders, they also included the tragic deaths of two young children – 10-year-old Glen Keegan and his six-year-old brother Andrew who were stabbed to death by their mother in Dublin last February.

“You have to look at the figures very carefully and not conclude that gun crime has leapt by 71%,” he said.

Last year, the murder rate increased by 46% with 54 people killed compared to 37 the previous year.

The overall crime rate for the first quarter of 2006 has risen by 8%, compared to the same period last year. Much of this was accounted for by an increase in property crime, with thefts from vehicles rising by 25% to over 3,600 and thefts from shops rising by 12% to over 2,800.

However, there was an 38% decrease in cash in transit robberies, a 36% decrease in overall sexual crime and an 8% decrease in the number of offences for discharging a firearm.