LESS THAN HALF the population in Ireland are confident that people are brought to justice in the State, latest figures from the CSO’s Crime and Victimisation survey show.

Some 46% of people aged 18 and over said they felt “very confident” or “quite confident” that that the wider criminal justice system has brought people who commit crimes to justice, while almost a fifth of people said they were “not confident at all”.

Feelings of confidence were highest among people aged 18 to 29, with the age group 45-59 years having the lowest levels of confidence.

The findings show that the lowest levels of confidence were felt by those living in very disadvantaged areas, with 38% of people in the most disadvantaged areas feeling “very” or “quite” confident that people are brought to justice in Ireland, compared to 53% of those living in the most affluent areas.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) published the results of its most recent Crime and Victimisation survey today.

It reveals that one in 10 people said they had been a victim of a theft or attempted theft, an assault or a fraud crime in the last 12 months – while one in 25 households said they had suffered a burglary or vandalism to their property, with the highest rates in Dublin.

Safety in localities

Three quarters say they felt safe walking in their local area at night, however the proportion of people who felt unsafe walking in their local area at night was higher for women than for men, and higher in more disadvantaged areas of the country.

In a statement this afternoon, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said that the figures “indicate that women are almost three times more likely than men to feel unsafe walking within their own locality at night”. 

“This is a very concerning finding and there is an onus on all of us to ensure people feel safe and secure where they live,” McEntee said. 

“An Garda Síochána’s focus on community engagement and outreach to vulnerable groups and individuals throughout the Covid-19 public health emergency has provided reassurance during a time of difficulty, showing the great value of a community-based policing service, while simultaneously continuing normal policing activities to tackle areas such as fraud and deception, organised crime and drug related crime,” she said.

More than two-thirds of people said they felt that gardaí were “very effective” or “quite effective” at tackling crime in their local area.

The Dublin region had the highest reported rate of victimisation (13%) for personal crime, compared to a low of 5% in the border region.

Some 4% of victims believed the crime was motivated by race, religion or ethnicity, while 3% stated that they felt the crime was motivated by gender and 2% said they felt that age had been a motivating factor.

Commenting on these figures, McEntee said: Targetting any individual on the basis of a personal characteristic is completely unacceptable and the government has made clear its intention to take further action to tackle hate crime. 

“Following a detailed public consultation held over recent months, my Department is currently finalising detailed proposals on new hate crime and incitement to hatred legislation. It is my intention to submit these proposals to government as soon as possible.” 

Speaking of the survey, statistician Sam Scriven explained that “Crime and Victimisation is a household survey which asks about people’s experiences, perceptions and reactions to crime in Ireland”.

“One in 10 said that they had been a victim of a violent or non-violent theft or attempted theft, an assault or a fraud crime in the 12 months prior to interview.

“Younger people were more likely to be a victim of these types of crime, 14% of persons aged 18-29 said they had been a victim compared to 5% of people aged over 60.

“One in 25 households said they had suffered either a burglary or vandalism to their property in the 12 months prior to interview, with the highest rates in Dublin and lowest rates in the Border and West regions – both 2%.

“Around six out of 10 households reported these incidents to An Garda Síochana, with the main reason given for non-reporting by households being that the incident wasn’t considered serious enough.”

Concluding her statement regarding the survery, McEntee urged all those who have been the victim of crime to report to gardaí. 

I am concerned that a large number of respondents did not report all crimes that they were a victim of to An Garda Síochána.

“I strongly encourage anyone who has been the victim of a crime to please contact their local garda station and report the incident,” McEntee said. 

Alternatively, information can be provided to An Garda Síochána on its confidential line at 1800 666 111. 

“In particular, I would also remind victims of domestic violence that services are still available to provide quick and crucial support in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic and that details of these supports are available at the website www.stillhere.ie,” McEntee said.

Includes reporting by Press Association