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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 8 Dec 1999

Vol. 512 No. 4

Written Answers. - Crime Statistics.

John Gormley

Question:

24 Mr. Gormley asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on the disparity between Central Statistics Office crime survey statistics and Garda crime figures. [25120/99]

The CSO included a range of questions on crime and victimisation in the September to November 1998 quarterly national household survey; and published the results on Tuesday 23 November 1999.

The CSO's report contains estimates of the level of incidence of crime over a 12 month period and includes statistics on how people perceive crime and safety in Ireland today. The report showed that crime had affected one in every eight households during the previous year.

The CSO survey results are not directly comparable with the crime figures published each year by the Garda Síochána. This is because there are fundamental differences in how the two sets of figures are compiled and classified. While the Garda report provides a very detailed breakdown of indictable and non-indictable offences, the CSO survey gives a more aggregated view of the level of crime. The survey results show that not all crimes are reported to the gardaí. For example, almost 90% of vehicle thefts were reported to the gardaí whereas the level of reporting of vandalism was under 40%. For most other types of crime, about 60% of incidents are reported. The most common reason for not reporting a crime was that it was not serious enough or there was no financial loss.

These findings are consistent with the results of the ESRT's 1982 survey of crime in Ireland, and with international experience of comparing crime surveys with police statistics.

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