Léim ar aghaidh chuig an bpríomhábhar
Gnáthamharc

Crime Levels.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 March 2006

Tuesday, 28 March 2006

Ceisteanna (401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, 410, 411, 412, 413, 414, 415, 416, 417, 418, 419)

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

419 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of robberies reported in the Enniscorthy district, County Wexford; the number detected in the years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12142/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

423 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of robberies reported in the Wexford district, County Wexford; the number detected in the years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12146/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

424 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of robberies reported in the Gorey district, County Wexford; the number detected in the years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12147/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

425 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of robberies reported in the New Ross district, County Wexford; the number detected in the years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12148/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 419 and 423 to 425, inclusive, together.

I have made inquiries with the Garda authorities and the following table gives the statistics for the number of robberies committed and detected in the Garda districts of Enniscorthy, Wexford, Gorey and New Ross for each of the years 2000-05.

The introduction of the PULSE computer system by the Garda Síochána in 1999 has led to more complete and comprehensive recording of crimes reported than was previously the case. It should be borne in mind that any interpretation of the crime figures should factor in the increase in our population in the past ten years. In 1995, with a population of almost 3.6 million people, there were 29 crimes per 1,000 of the population. In 2005, with a population of more than 4.1 million, there were 24.6 crimes per 1,000 of the population, a reduction of 4.4 crimes per 1,000 of the population. To put this in context, during the two full years of the rainbow coalition government, with a population of 600,000 less than at present, the headline crime figures were as follows: 1995 — 102,484; 1996 — 100,785.

The figures provided for 2000 and 2001 are incomplete due to the phased implementation of PULSE. The first full year captured is 2002 and is a more accurate base year to use. I am pleased to note a drop of 22.5% in the total number of robberies from 2004 to 2005 and a 17% drop in the total number of robberies from 2002 to 2005.

Robbery offences recorded and detected for the Garda districts of Enniscorthy, Wexford, Gorey and New Ross 2000-05.

2005*

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Enniscorthy

6

1

8

5

7

4

2

0

3

2

2

2

Wexford

11

6

7

2

8

3

17

2

14

5

7

4

Gorey

7

2

15

8

7

7

8

2

8

7

13

7

New Ross

0

0

1

1

5

2

2

1

2

1

0

0

Total

24

9

31

16

27

16

29

5

27

15

22

13

*2005 figures are provisional, operational and liable to change.

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

420 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of people who were arrested and charged for the possession or use of drugs in the years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 in the Wexford district, County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12143/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

421 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of people who were arrested and charged for the possession or use of drugs in the years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 in the Gorey district, County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12144/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

422 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of people who were arrested and charged for the possession or use of drugs in the years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 in the New Ross district, County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12145/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

I propose to take Questions Nos. 420 to 422, inclusive, together.

It has not been possible, within the timeframe available, to collate the information required by the Deputy. I will contact the Deputy directly when the information is to hand.

Questions Nos. 423 to 425, inclusive, answered with Question No. 419.

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

426 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of robberies and aggravated burglaries where firearms were used which were reported; the number which were detected in the years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 in the Gorey district, County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12149/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

427 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of robberies and aggravated burglaries where firearms were used which were reported; the number which were detected in the years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 in the New Ross district, County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12150/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

428 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of robberies and aggravated burglaries where firearms were used which were reported; the number which were detected in the years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 in the Wexford district, County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12151/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

442 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of robberies and aggravated burglaries where firearms were used which were reported; the number which were detected in the years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 (details supplied) in County Wexford. [12165/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

I propose to take Questions Nos. 426, 427, 428 and 442 together.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the following table provides the total number of robbery and aggravated burglary offences where a firearm was used, recorded and detected in the Garda districts of Wexford, New Ross, Gorey and Enniscorthy for the years 2002-05. I am pleased to note that the table shows a reduction of 37.5% in offences recorded, where a firearm was used in the districts concerned, from 2004-05.

The introduction of the PULSE computer system by the Garda Síochána in 1999 has led to more complete and comprehensive recording of crimes reported than was previously the case. The figures provided for 2000 and 2001 are incomplete due to the phased implementation of PULSE. The first full year captured is 2002 and is a more accurate base year to use.

It should be borne in mind that any interpretation of the crime figures should factor in the increase in our population in the past ten years. In 1995, with a population of almost 3.6 million people, there were 29 crimes per 1,000 of the population. In 2005, with a population of over 4.1 million, there were 24.6 crimes per 1,000 of the population, a reduction of 4.4 crimes per 1,000 of the population. To put this in context, during the two full years of the rainbow coalition government, with a population of 600,000 less than at present, the headline crime figures were as follows: 1995 — 102,484; 1996 — 100,785.

I propose bringing forward a range of measures to strengthen the law governing the control of firearms in the Criminal Justice Bill 2004, which is currently before the House. These new measures include increases in fines and penalties generally for offences under the Firearms Acts and the creation of mandatory minimum sentences, of between five and ten years, for certain firearms offences, including possession of a firearm in suspicious circumstances, possession of firearm with criminal intent, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, possession of a firearm while hijacking a vehicle, and use or production of a firearm to resist arrest.

In this context I also propose to introduce a statutory basis for an amnesty during which firearms may be surrendered to the Garda Síochána before the proposed new penalties and minimum mandatory sentences are introduced. This will enable those in possession of firearms, who are not in compliance with the legal requirements, to regularise their position, and thus enable the Garda Síochána to concentrate on more serious offenders.

Figures provided for 2005 are provisional, operational and liable to change.

Robbery and aggravated burglary offences where a firearm was used, recorded and detected for the Garda districts of Gorey, Enniscorthy, Wexford and New Ross for the years 2002-05.

2005

2004

2003

2002

Garda district

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Gorey

3

2

5

2

1

1

1

1

Enniscorthy

1

0

1

0

0

0

1

1

Wexford

0

0

1

0

1

1

0

0

New Ross

1

1

1

0

2

1

0

0

Total

5

3

8

2

4

3

2

2

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

429 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of rape and sexual assaults which were reported in the years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005; the number which were detected in the New Ross district, County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12152/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

430 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of rape and sexual assaults which were reported in the years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005; the number which were detected in the Wexford district, County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12153/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

431 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of rape and sexual assaults which were reported in the years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005; the number which were detected in the Gorey district, County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12154/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

438 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of rapeand sexual assaults which were reported in the years 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005; the number which were detected in County Wexford (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12161/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

I propose to take Questions Nos. 429, 430, 431 and 438 together.

I have made inquiries with the Garda authorities and the following table gives statistics for the number of rapes and sexual assaults committed and detected in the Garda districts of Enniscorthy, Wexford, Gorey and New Ross for each of the years 2002-2005. The introduction of the PULSE computer system by the Garda Síochána in 1999 has led to more complete and comprehensive recording of crimes reported than was previously the case. The figures provided for 2000 and 2001 are incomplete due to the phased implementation of PULSE. The first full year captured is 2002 and is a more accurate base year to use.

It should be borne in mind that any interpretation of the crime figures should factor in the increase in our population in the past ten years. In 1995, with a population of almost 3.6 million people, there were 29 crimes per 1,000 of the population. In 2005, with a population of over 4.1 million, there were 24.6 crimes per 1,000 of the population, a reduction of 4.4 crimes per 1,000 of the population. To put this in context, during the two full years of the rainbow coalition government, with a population of 600,000 less than at present, the headline crime figures were 102,484 in 1995 and 100,785 in 1996.

I urge caution when comparing crime statistics for rape and sexual assault against previous years. The detection of one case in an area can lead to a number of cases being reported to the Garda authorities in respect of previous years. It is to be welcomed that victims are now more inclined to report matters to the Garda authorities than was previously the case. Nevertheless I am pleased to note a reduction of 13.5% in the total number of rapes and sexual assault offences in 2005 compared with 2002. In addition 57.5% of all rapes and sexual assault reported in the period 2002 to 2005 were detected.

Rape and sexual assault recorded and detected for the Garda districts of Enniscorthy, Wexford, Gorey, and New Ross 2000 to 2005.

2005*

2004

2003

2002

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Wexford

Rape**

4

2

6

1

4

3

12

3

Sexual Assault

7

1

9

3

16

8

26

10

Enniscorthy

Rape**

1

0

3

2

1

1

3

3

Sexual Assault

10

4

3

2

4

2

11

7

New Ross

Rape **

5

4

3

3

4

3

3

2

Sexual Assault

20

16

2

2

1

1

9

7

New Ross

Rape**

4

2

6

4

1

0

2

2

Sexual Assault

15

8

14

8

10

9

10

8

Total

66

37

46

25

40

27

76

42

*2005 figures are provisional, operational and liable to change.

**Rape includes rape under section 4 Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990 and rape of a female

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

432 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of headline crimes which were reported; the number which were detected in the Wexford district, County Wexford in the years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12155/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

433 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of headline crimes which were reported; the number which were detected in New Ross, County Wexford in the years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12156/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

439 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of headline crime which were reported; the number which were detected in Enniscorthy district, County Wexford in each year from 2000 to 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12162/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Paul Kehoe

Ceist:

440 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of headline crimes which were reported; the number which were detected (details supplied) in County Wexford in each year from 2000 to 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12163/06]

Amharc ar fhreagra

I propose to take Questions Nos. 432, 433, 439 and 440 together.

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the following tables provide the total number of headline offences, by group, recorded and detected in the Garda districts of Wexford, New Ross, Gorey and Enniscorthy for the years 2000 to 2005.

The introduction of the PULSE computer system by the Garda Síochána in 1999 has led to more complete and comprehensive recording of crimes reported than was previously the case. The figures provided for 2000 and 2001 are incomplete due to the phased implementation of PULSE. The first full year captured is 2002 and is a more accurate base year to use.

It should be borne in mind that any interpretation of the crime figures should factor in the increase in our population in the past ten years. In 1995, with a population of almost 3.6 million people, there were 29 crimes per 1,000 of the population. In 2005, with a population of more than 4.1 million, there were 24.6 crimes per 1,000 of the population, a reduction of 4.4 crimes per 1,000 of the population. To put this in context, during the two full years of the rainbow coalition Government, with a population of 600,000 less than at present, the headline crime figures were 102,484 in 1995 and 100,785 in 1996.

It should also be noted that the headline offence of homicide includes not only murder and manslaughter but the other homicide offences of infanticide, abortion, attempted murder and threat to murder. Over the five year period shown in the table there were five murders recorded with four detected, and two manslaughters recorded with two detected in the Garda districts concerned.

Figures provided for 2005 are provisional, operational and liable to change.

Table 1: Headline offences recorded and detected for the Garda district of Wexford for the years 2000 to 2005.

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

Wexford

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Homicide

3

2

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

1

1

1

Assault

37

23

33

19

25

18

45

31

24

17

10

5

Sexual Offences

20

6

20

7

26

15

42

16

22

13

12

10

Arson

7

0

10

1

6

0

13

6

12

4

6

2

Drugs

28

28

14

14

11

11

23

22

13

13

12

12

Theft

549

249

504

171

519

174

556

187

429

177

271

108

Burglary

327

48

292

34

315

88

288

47

300

39

248

66

Robbery

11

6

7

2

8

3

17

2

14

5

7

4

Fraud

96

84

59

34

53

34

55

33

39

32

49

42

Other

19

14

5

3

13

8

7

5

6

4

0

0

Total

1097

460

944

285

976

351

1046

349

860

305

616

250

Table 2: Headline offences recorded and detected for the Garda district of New Ross for the years 2000 to 2005.

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

New Ross

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Homicide

1

1

0

0

0

0

1

1

0

0

2

2

Assault

11

10

23

21

24

21

19

18

18

15

4

4

Sexual Offences

26

21

11

7

16

13

18

14

10

6

16

14

Arson

2

1

5

2

2

0

4

2

2

1

2

1

Drugs

8

8

6

6

11

10

5

5

8

8

4

4

Theft

165

80

203

75

166

54

170

80

114

50

100

31

Burglary

154

18

134

19

122

29

125

29

107

42

122

34

Robbery

0

0

1

1

5

2

2

1

2

1

0

0

Fraud

10

6

15

11

22

16

10

5

13

10

27

23

Other

1

1

11

7

9

6

12

8

4

3

0

0

Total

378

146

409

149

377

151

366

163

278

136

277

113

Table 3: Headline offences recorded and detected for the Garda district of Enniscorthy for the years 2000 to 2005.

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

Enniscorthy

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Homicide

0

0

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Assault

31

20

26

23

26

24

35

28

22

18

12

12

Sexual Offences

17

4

12

9

7

5

19

14

18

17

4

4

Arson

7

5

3

2

5

1

5

3

1

0

4

4

Drugs

36

36

13

13

5

5

4

4

4

4

1

1

Theft

246

108

202

100

223

88

189

69

101

51

132

69

Burglary

172

28

184

13

173

37

188

29

138

20

151

41

Robbery

6

1

8

5

7

4

2

0

3

2

2

2

Fraud

49

42

20

15

41

37

25

20

23

22

28

26

Other

11

7

18

18

5

5

10

9

2

2

1

1

Total

575

251

487

199

492

206

477

176

312

136

335

160

Table 4: Headline offences recorded and detected for the Garda district of Gorey for the years 2000 to 2005.

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

Gorey

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Rec

Det

Homicide

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Assault

28

23

36

26

37

26

41

38

18

16

8

8

Sexual Offences

22

12

20

12

19

13

14

11

15

11

2

2

Arson

7

2

2

0

7

2

12

3

7

2

4

1

Drugs

36

36

23

23

19

19

25

25

22

22

25

25

Theft

408

211

399

156

394

141

372

143

228

99

163

64

Burglary

335

79

299

45

292

46

248

41

232

91

238

90

Robbery

7

2

15

8

7

7

8

2

8

7

13

7

Fraud

36

25

23

20

22

11

14

10

24

23

27

26

Other

23

21

24

21

11

7

17

13

9

8

6

6

Total

902

411

841

311

808

272

751

286

563

279

486

229

Question No. 434 answered with QuestionNo. 416.
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