John Gormley
Ceist:7 Mr. Gormley asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on the disparity between Central Statistics Office crime survey statistics and Garda crime figures. [25120/99]
Ceisteanna–Questions. - Crime Levels.
The Central Statistics Office included a range of questions on crime and victimisation in the September to November 1998 quarterly national household survey and published the results on Tuesday, 23 November 1999.
The CSO's report contains estimates of the level of crime over a 12 month period and also includes statistics on how people perceive crime and safety in Ireland today. The report showed that crime had affected one in every eight households over the course of the previous year.
The CSO survey results are not directly comparable with the crime figures published each year by the Garda Síochána. This is because there are fundamental differences in the way the two sets of figures are compiled and classified. While the Garda report provides a detailed breakdown of indictable and non-indictable offences, the CSO survey gives a more aggregated view of the level of crime. The survey results show that not all crimes are reported to the gardaí. For example, almost 95% of vehicle thefts were reported to the gardaí, whereas the level of reporting of vandalism was under 40%. For most other types of crime, about 60% of incidents are reported. The most common reason for not reporting a crime was that it "was not serious enough" or that there was "no financial loss".
These findings are consistent with the results of the ESRI's 1982 survey on crime in Ireland, and with international experience of comparing crime surveys with police statistics.
Ceist a h'ocht.
May I come back in? I asked the question.
It is unusual on statistical questions but if the Deputy wishes to proceed—
Is the Minister of State not concerned that almost 40% of crime involving violence was not reported?
The Minister of State is purely responsible for statistics. He is not responsible for policy.
Those statistics are very clear; the zero tolerance policy is not working.