John Deasy
Question:121 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when he expects that the crime statistics for 2002 will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7497/03]
Ceisteanna – Questions (Resumed). Priority Questions. - Crime Statistics.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the exact date for submission to me of the Commissioner's annual report for 2002, which will contain the Garda crime statistics for that year, has not yet been determined.
I understand statistics for the year 2002 are currently the subject of a validation process which must be completed before the final compilation of figures for inclusion in the annual report for 2002 can occur. Neither I nor my Department has any involvement in the generation, compilation or presentation of Garda crime statistics, and that includes the date by which the Commissioner's annual reports are produced in printed form.
Deputies may recall that last year I published provisional Garda crime statistics in respect of the year 2001 pending the preparation of fully validated statistics by the Garda authorities, in the interest of timeliness in reporting on a key quality-of-life indicator. Those provisional statistics were published in July 2002, and the validated figures, which were only slightly different from the provisional figures, were published in November 2002.
I now intend to engage in a similar process this year in respect of the 2002 figures. I propose to seek provisional statistics from the Garda authorities and publish them as soon as possible, without awaiting the compilation of the full annual report for 2002. I expect that these statistics will be available to me in the near future, and there will be no avoidable delay on my part in making them publicly available.
With respect to the annual reports for the year 2000 onwards, the format in which the reports present crime statistics has changed as a result of the PULSE information technology project. Specifically, the changeover to PULSE allowed the Garda to reorganise its crime classification system, so that it more accurately reflects the complex, modern criminal activities reported or known to the Garda Síochána. I remind the House that in January 2003, with Government approval, I established an expert group on crime statistics to examine the methods of collation and presentation of crime statistics by the Garda Síochána and other organisations involved in criminal prosecution.
In the context of the introduction of PULSE, the expert group will develop an accepted framework for the production and presentation of reported crime statistics over the coming decades. Such a framework, to be agreed following wide-ranging expert consultation, will also serve to inform and reassure members of the public of the integrity, validity and usefulness of official crime statistics. As part of its work, I understand the expert group is actively considering the issue of the timeliness of the production of Garda crime statistics.
The new Garda PULSE computer system which records crime statistics was described recently by a District Court judge as "totally and utterly unreliable". I am sure the Minister has heard those remarks and I ask for his comments.
I heard the remarks attributed to the District Court judge. If I may put it this way, I appreciate that he was frustrated in respect of some incident that came before him. I would be very slow to dismiss out of hand the PULSE system because it is the system that last year produced the figures which showed a major upswing in crime figures and which was the subject of some public controversy. I would be very loath to go back to the pen and paper method. I think the PULSE system is more reliable.
Like the penalty points system.
It would be a foolish and retrograde step to say that because there may be small hiccups in the PULSE system we should revert to a system which would allow a much more subjective view to be adopted by regional divisions of An Garda Síochána in presenting figures. Whatever inadequacies there may be in the PULSE system – and I do not believe they are as serious as the learned District Court judge's remarks suggested – it must be accepted that they are more likely to be more accurate than a system which is a donkey and cart method of recording everything by hand in ledgers.
The Minister used the word "timeliness" in the last sentence of his answer when speaking about the crime statistics. I ask him how he can deal with a problem when he does not know what is the nature of the problem. Our crime statistics are produced months after the fact. Surely the crime statistics need to be published at least monthly.
I have no principled objection to the production of monthly crime statistics if that would advance public awareness or enable a closer view to be taken on trends. I do not want to engage in unnecessary monthly publications in circumstances where a vast amount of time was taken up with twelve reports every year rather than one.
That is what PULSE is for.
I agree with the Deputy's point that as we become clearer—
What is the point of PULSE?
—about the reliability of PULSE, it should be possible, subject to validation, to make more frequent reports on the data available from PULSE.
In light of considerable public disquiet as to whether crime statistics were reliable in the past, I decided to establish an expert group to advise on the compilation and validity of crime statistics. The Deputy's point is an interesting one which I will put to the expert group. Should we have monthly or bi-monthly figures so that we could have a clearer picture on a more timely basis of crime statistics? Not everything has to be done on an annual basis.
As we have exceeded the time limit, I call the Minister on Question No. 122.
The issue is not the way the crime statistics are presented. The issue is that by the time a pattern of crime is identified our response is too late.
I take the Deputy's point and I will bring his views to the attention of the expert group who are considering the question of punc tuality and timing. It may be practical to produce periodical statistics on a far more punctual basis once everyone is satisfied the figures are valid.