Vol. 518 No. 2
42 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the plans, if any, he has to review the manner in which Garda crime statistics are compiled in view of the apparent contradiction between figures produced in the CSO's quarterly national household survey and official Garda figures and the high level of non-reporting reflected in the CSO figures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11178/00]
As I have said in the House on a number of occasions, I welcome the publication of the Central Statistics Office survey data. It was the first time that a nationwide survey of this scale was carried out by the Central Statistics Office but as we do not have a similar survey from a different time period, it is not therefore possible to identify any trends or to draw conclusions from it. There is no evidence, therefore, that under-reporting of crime, for example, is any higher now than it was at any other time.
It should be remembered, however, that victimisation surveys cannot be directly compared with the Garda statistics. The CSO itself drew attention to the fact that "the survey results are not directly comparable with crime statistics published in the Garda Síochána annual report, as there are fundamental differences in sources, definitions and classification methodology". It is also worth noting that the CSO has highlighted that the survey data are subject to sampling variation and that some of the results should be interpreted with extreme caution.
When comparing the survey data to the Garda statistics, in simple terms we are not comparing like with like and this is always crucial when comparing any two data collection systems if robust conclusions are to be drawn. In relation to under-reporting of crime, for example, I would, of course, urge the public to report any crime to the Garda.
I have indicated before in the House that my Department is considering the implications of the results of the CSO survey and I understand that the National Crime Council is also considering the results of the survey.
