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Detection rates rise for homicide offences

Official figures show that detection rates for most categories of crime reported last year were equal to or just below 2022 levels, though there was an increase in the detection rate for homicides.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said that the crime rate in the Dublin region was generally higher in 2023, but the detection rate was lower for most crimes.

A crime is defined as ‘detected’ when An Garda Síochána have identified at least one person responsible for committing the offence, and that person has been issued a charge or summons, a formal or informal caution, or a fixed-payment notice. 

The CSO measures detection rates eight months after the end of each year.

Sexual offences

Its figures for September 2024 show that the detection rate for crimes involving sexual offences committed in 2023 was 8% – down slightly from 9% last year.

The CSO says that, over time, around one-fifth of crimes linked to sexual offences lead to a charge or summons, adding that 16% of such crimes committed in 2022 had been detected by September this year. 

The detection rate for homicides reported in 2023 was 82% – up eight percentage points compared with last year. The rate for kidnapping increased by four points to 33%, while burglary was up slightly to 22%.

The detection rates for theft (31%) and fraud offences (8%) were unchanged from last year.

The rate for controlled-drugs offences fell four points to 79%, while the category covering attempts to murder, assaults, and harassments dropped three points to 28%. Robbery, extortion, and hijacking was also down three points to 23%.

Drop in fraud detection

According to the CSO, the Dublin Metropolitan area experienced a crime rate of 2,522 incidents per 100,000 people for theft and related offences – nearly twice the State average and more than three times as much as the north-west region.

The 26% detection rate for this crime in Dublin, however, was the lowest among all the regions.

The CSO notes that the share of fraud-related offences that led to a charge or summons has been “significantly lower” since 2021, but adds that the doubling of offences in this category between 2020 and 2021 is a likely contributory factor.