THERE WERE OVER 500 more burglaries and related crimes committed in Ireland in the past three months than in the same period last year.

According to the latest crime figures released by the Central Statistics Office this morning, there were 6,561 burglaries recorded between July and September, up 8.5 per cent on 2010.

In the 12 months to the end of September, there were a total of 25,441 burglary and related offences.

The Gardaí are now placing a particular emphasis on preventing and reducing burglary. According to Justice Minister Alan Shatter, they are working on a targeted response regarding locations, times, offenders and victims.

Almost one quarter of burglaries take place between noon and 4pm, with Thursday and Friday being the most common days.

‘Positive picture’

The only other crime group to see an increase in offences recorded was kidnapping and related offences. In the three-month period, 29 offences were noted – up by one when compared to 2010.

The total number of offences recorded in the other 12 crime groups dropped. Shatter said this offers a “positive picture” of Ireland.

He welcomed the 42.1 per cent reduction in homicide offences in the quarter, which includes a 9.1 per cent decrease in the number of murders and 83.3 per cent drop in cases of dangerous driving leading to death.

“Also very encouraging are the reductions in the categories of controlled drug offences, down 15 per cent, and weapons and explosives offences, down 11.3 per cent,” he said.

There was a significant reduction in the number of sexual offences recorded but this figure could be skewed by the rise in 2010 due to an on-going review of all cases involving alleged sexual offences reported to the Gardaí.

In the public order and related offences category, there was a fall of 15 per cent of recorded incidents. According to the minister, the misuse of alcohol remains a contributory factor for such disorderly conduct.

Commenting on the figures further, Shatter said, “While there are clearly no grounds for complacency, it is right that I compliment the Garda Commissioner, his senior management and all members of the Force for their focused and strategic work in preventing and detecting crime.”

Here’s a breakdown of the figures for Q3 2011 (compared to Q3 2010):

Homicide Offences: 11 (down 8 )

Sexual Offences: 496 (down 134)

Attempts/threats to murder, assault, harassment and related: 3,863 (down 781)

Dangerous or negligent acts: 2,479 (down 556)

Kidnapping and related offences: 29 (up 1)

Robbery, extortion and hijacking: 715 (down 3)

Burglary and related offences: 6,561 (up 512)

Theft and related: 19,562 (down 466)

Fraud, deception and related: 1,242 (down 3)

Controlled drug offences: 4,766 (down 840)

Weapons and explosives offences: 840 (down 107)

Damage to property and the environment: 8,448 (down 1,339)

Public order and other social code offences: 12,458 (down 2,193)

Offences against Government, justice procedures and organisations of crime: 1,730 (974)