Vol. 454 No. 2
36 Mr. Clohessy asked the Minister for Justice the research facilities available in her Department in relation to the collation of statistical information on the various categories of criminal offences in order that her Department may have some definitive statistical information on which to base policy. [10419/95]
Crime statistics are compiled and collated by the Garda authorities and published every year in the annual report of An Garda Síochána. A Garda research unit was recently established to undertake practical and mission-orientated research of relevance to a modern police force and it is currently carrying out a programme of research projects, one of which is examining the question of integrating the statistics compiled by the different branches of the criminal justice system.
I should also add that the introduction of the new Garda information technology system, which is currently in development, will enhance the recording of crime statistics and will allow for an even more detailed analysis of the crime situation. It will take time and expertise to get to the stage where we will have an adequate statistical base coming on stream each year. I will progress this objective in any way I can.
