Vol. 499 No. 5
16 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has satisfied himself that all crime is being reported and thus reflected in statistics; if he has further satisfied himself that these statistics entail all organised crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3031/99]
As the Deputy is no doubt aware, the crime statistics most frequently referred to in this House are the statistics contained in the annual report of Garda Síochána. The Garda are responsible for the production of crime statistics which arise from the crimes which are reported to them or which become known to them. Organised crime and minor offences alike are featured in the Garda crime statistics. I am assured by the Garda authorities that all crimes which are reported to the Garda are the subject of appropriate investigation, attention and reflection in the Garda crime statistics.
Of course, neither the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform nor the Garda Commissioner nor anyone else is in a position to guarantee that every single crime which occurs is reported to the Garda. The problem of estimating the amount of crime which is not reported to the police is well known in the field of criminology, and is by no means unique to Ireland. While a small number of Irish research studies have examined this issue, there is no clear consensus on the question of how many crimes are not reported to the Garda. Judging by the research available, it is fair to say that unreported crimes tend to be less serious than those that are reported.
