Crime Statistics

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 May 2013

Tuesday, 7 May 2013

Questions (285)

Pearse Doherty

Question:

285. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to the broadcast of the Prime Time investigation entitled Riches from Rags on 25 April, 2013, which chronicled scores of alleged thefts from charitable clothes bins across the State, if he will confirm the number of individual crime reports that have been registered on the PULSE system and when the crime reports were registered on PULSE; and the way such alleged thefts are shown in crime statistics reported by the Central Statistics Office. [21187/13]

Written answers

Minister for Justice and Equality

I am informed by the Garda authorities that it is not possible to provide the number of individual reports taken by Gardaí relating to charitable clothes bins across the State as they are not recorded on PULSE in a specific incident type. I am further informed that each offence would have to be examined manually to identify if it related to a clothes bank or not and would require a disproportionate expenditure of Garda time and resources to compile. The Garda Síochána Act 2005 makes provision for the compilation and publication of crime statistics by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, and the CSO has established a dedicated unit for this purpose. I have requested the CSO to provide any relevant information which may be available directly to the Deputy, having regard to the situation outlined above concerning the recording of such incidents.