Spike in fraud offences since the outbreak of Covid-19

New statistics issued by the CSO show incidences of most criminal offences have fallen in the last 12 months but there has been a rise in cases of fraud and weapons offences

Fraud and related offences increased by 1,101, or 13.7% in the year to the end of quarter one of 2021, including a sharp increase in phone and email scams, as highlighted by gardaí and State agencies in recent weeks. File picture

Most criminal offences have fallen sharply since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated lockdowns, according to new statistics issued by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

However, the number of fraud and related incidents increased during that time when compared to the same period the previous year.

The total number of recorded incidents in the year to March 2021 fell sharply in the category of burglary and related offences, which was down by 7,457, or 45.4%.

Theft and related offences also decreased significantly, with a reduction of 20,497, or 30.7%, while robbery, extortion and hijacking offences were down by 26.4% when compared with the corresponding period to the first quarter of 2020.

Murder, assaults, harassment

There were also notable decreases in the numbers of crime incidents classified as attempts or threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences, which fell by 2,953, or 13.9%, while damage to property and to the environment decreased by 11.4% and public order and other social code offences fell by 11.2%.

The number of people recorded as victims of attempts or threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences during the first three months of the year was 602 lower (-13.6%) than for the corresponding period in 2020.

This fall was mostly accounted for by a reduction in male victims, which was down 483 (-18.9%) on the 2020 level. The number of female victims of assault also decreased, but by a smaller figure of 119, or -6.4%.

Despite the overall decrease, the number of female victims aged under 18 increased by 11, or 5.2%, in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020.

Warnings about fraud attempts

Fraud and related offences increased by 1,101, or 13.7% in the year to the end of quarter one of 2021. In recent weeks, gardaí and a number of State agencies have been issuing warnings about fraud attempts, including attempted phone and email scams. 

There were also increases in the number of controlled drug offences (+9.5%) and weapons and explosives offences (+7.6%).

The data comes from the Garda’s Pulse computer system, which the CSO publishes “under reservation”, which means it has concerns about the quality of recorded data.

A total of 10,459 offences were recorded on the Pulse system for breaches of Covid-19 regulations in the first three months of 2021.

This is a marked increase on 1,090 such offences recorded during 2020, and reflects the introduction of a new system of fixed payment notices in respect of breaches of Covid-19 regulations in December 2020, the CSO said.