asked the Minister for Justice the number of motor vehicles stolen or taken without the owners' consent during the period 30th September 1967 to 30th September 1968; and the number of cases in which prosecutions were brought against the offenders.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Statistics of Stolen Cars.
43.
During the period referred to, the number of motor vehicles stolen was 168. Prosecutions were brought against the offenders in 54 cases. In addition there were detections in four cases which were dealt with by caution under the Juvenile Liaison Scheme.
In the same period, 4,930 motor vehicles were taken without the owners' consent, the number of prosecutions brought in respect of these offences being 819. There were detections in 89 cases which were dealt with by caution.
By way of explanation of what may appear at first sight to be an unusually low detection rate in the case of vehicles taken "without the owners' consent", I think I should point out that this classification covers a wide variety of offences, including cases in which it is particularly difficult to trace the offenders, as, for example, where youths take light motorbicycles from outside cinemas and drive them a short distance before abandoning them.