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Number of homicides fell by 13% last year

Official figures on recorded crime show that, while homicides and robberies fell last year, there were increases in sexual offences and incidents linked to weapons and explosives. 

The number of incidents involving homicide fell by 13% to 77 incidents in 2024 when compared with 2023, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). 

Offences linked to robbery, extortion, and hijacking were down by 10% to 2,353 over the year, the figures show.

This was mainly due to fewer incidents of blackmail or extortion.

Controlled-drug offences fell by 7% to 16,119 incidents last year. The CSO says that this drop was mainly due to fewer incidents involving possession of drugs for sale or supply or for personal use. 

Sexual offences up 8% 

In contrast, the number of recorded sexual offences increased by 8% last year, while offences linked to weapons and explosives were up 5%. 

Other crime categories to show increases included public order (5%), theft (3%), and burglary (2%). 

Attempts or threats to murder, assaults, harassments, and related offences rose by 3%, while the number of victims of these crimes increased by 2% to 5,809. 

Mixed picture on threats and assaults 

The number of male victims in this category rose by 4% to 3,438, and the number of female victims remained virtually unchanged at 2,371.  

The CSO noted that the number of attempts or threats to murder, assaults, and harassments increased by 9% in the gardaí’s Dublin Metropolitan Region, while the number of such offences dropped in the southern and north-western regions. 

The CSO recorded 11,431 offences linked to fraud last year, but it warned earlier this year that figures published before and after the third quarter of 2023 were no longer comparable, due to issues linked to garda recording of fraud-related incidents reported by financial institutions.