asked the Minister for Justice if recent statistics provided in relation to crimes allegedly committed on bail relate to crimes for which convictions have been secured and if this distinction is drawn in the statistics furnished.
Written Answers. - Crime Statistics.
396.
The answer is "no". As explained in the reply to a previous Question on 13 November, the statistics relate to charges. I am informed by the Garda authorities, on the basis of their knowledge of the situation in a number of other countries, that it is common practice for police statistics to show as "offences detected" or "offences cleared up" all offences in respect of which charges are preferred. As already indicated, it is to be understood that the statistics relating to offences by persons on bail are given only as a good general guide to the known extent of the problem. However, in the view of the Garda authorities, they significantly understate rather than overstate the extent to which offences are committed by persons on bail as the Garda are satisfied that many offences are so committed without the Garda being able to obtain evidence to justify a charge.