Sex assaults and drug crimes on the rise in Cork

Chief Superintendent Barry McPolin said the use of drugs hadn't slowed down during the pandemic and a lot of resources were put into clamping down on it. File picture: Gardaí

Sexual assaults and drug crimes were up in Cork City and county in the first eight months of this year compared to the same period in 2020.

While most other crimes were down, gardaí believe the main reason for the increase in sex crimes is due to an easing of Covid-19 lockdown measures, while they've put a significant effort across the three Cork Garda divisions into cracking down on drugs.

Figures provided by Chief Superintendent Barry McPolin to a Cork City and County Joint Policing Committee showed there were noticeable increases in sex assaults. 

In the Cork City Garda Division, they jumped from 52 to 66, in Cork North they more than doubled from 15 to 36, and in Cork West they increased from 18 to 27. 

The number of reported rapes increased in Cork West only, and that was marginally.

Drug detections

When it came to drug detections for sale and supply and for possession for personal use, there were increases almost across the board in the three divisions.

There were 224 arrests for sale or supply for the first eight months of this year in Cork City, compared to 198 in the comparable period in 2020. 

Being caught in possession jumped from 767 cases to 958.

In Cork North, arrests for sale or supply went from 78 to 91 and arrests for possession rose from 351 to 380. 

In Cork West, detections for sale and supply fell from 65 to 53, but possession cases rose from 140 to 176.

Chief Supt McPolin said the use of drugs hadn't slowed down during the pandemic and a lot of resources were put into clamping down on it.

More people are being detected for driving while under the influence of drugs.

In total, there were 170 arrests for driving while intoxicated (drink and/or drugs) in Cork City, up four, and arrests rose by 10 in Cork West to 143. 

In Cork North, they dropped from 207 to 181.

Chief Supt McPolin said drug driving cases detected in the first eight months of this year were up from 82 to 108 in Cork North, while Cork West increased from 63 to 95. 

They decreased in the city division from 67 to 52.

Arrests for domestic abuse

Arrests for domestic abuse were down compared to the early months of lockdown. 

In Cork City, they dropped by 12% and in Cork West by 9%. They rose by 3% in Cork North.

The senior garda said thefts from shops and burglaries had dropped this year “primarily driven by Covid-19 restrictions, which also had an impact on criminals".

Minor assaults were also up in some areas, which Chief Supt McPolin said were again due to the reopening of pubs.

In Cork West, they increased from 115 to 124 and in Cork North from 198 to 238. In that division, the more serious crime of assault causing harm cases increased from 50 to 61. 

Minor assaults remained exactly the same at 136 in the city division, but serious assaults there dropped from 487 to 466.