Justice Minister Alan Shatter today welcomed the the overall reduction of 8% in the total number of crime incidents in Ireland.
The crime statistics issued by the Central Statistics Office, are for the twelve month period ending with the first quarter of 2013. They showed a reduction in 13 of the 14 crime groups for which figures are given, as well as the overall reduction of 8% in the total number of crime incidents.
The Minister paid tribute to "the consistent professionalism" of An Garda Síochána in confronting crime.
He welcome the reduction of 9.1% in burglary and related offences which, the Minister said,
…is a clear demonstration of the effectiveness of the measures which the Garda Commissioner has put in place under Operation Fiacla to successfully disrupt and bring before the courts those who seek to prey on law abiding householders.
The Minister expressed concern at the increase in one category of theft, theft from the person, which includes mobile phone theft, and which is being tackled proactively in a number of Garda operations.
Minister Shatter stated that:
The Gardaí alone cannot prevent mobile phone theft. This type of theft is all too easy for those intent on criminality. I would urge members of the public to take great care with regard to how they use and where they keep their phones as they go about their daily lives.
The Minister acknowledged that where crime does occur it has a very significant impact on the quality of community life. However, he noted that the range of offences associated with anti-social behaviour also show notable decreases with public order offences down by 12.5%, assaults, threats and related offences down by 11.9% and damage to property down by 10.1%.
Welcoming the reduction of 4.4% in homicide offences, 14.3% in weapons and explosives offences and a decline of 12.7% in controlled drugs offences the Minister said that:
It is clear that the Gardaí are continuing to implement robust and effective strategies to counter the evil activities of organised criminal gangs.
Read the full press release here.