Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 May 2023
216. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice the extent to which membership of criminal gangs or those associated with drug crimes have decreased/increased in each of the past five years to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25512/23]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business, which includes the recording of incidents/crime data on the Garda PULSE system. As Minister, I have no role in these independent functions. I am advised by the Garda authorities that membership of a 'criminal gang' is not recorded on PULSE and therefore the data requested by the Deputy is unavailable.
Given the fluid nature of such criminal groupings it is extremely difficult to quantify the number of criminal gangs operating at a particular time. Splinter groups and new gangs can form overnight. Organised Crime is constantly evolving and new innovations in crime are continuously emerging.
However, criminal legislation has been updated in recent years, with a view to ensuring that it provides a comprehensive range of provisions for the prosecution and punishment of crime, in particular the activities of those involved in organised crime.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, is responsible for the compilation and publication of all crime statistics including drug related crime.
