INCIDENTS OF VIOLENT robberies as well as blackmail, hijacking and theft have all risen this year, new crime statistics show. 

In the space of 12 months the crimes of robbery, extortion and hijacking have increased by 531 to 2,601 – a rise of 28%.

This is included in the latest stats from the Central Statistics Office which was released today.

Theft and related offences were up by 12% or 8,169 to 74,144 incidents in the last quarter of 2023. Those thefts were from shops – or known as shoplifting incidents. 

Weapons offences explosives offences are up 5% as well as criminal damage to property and the environment also increased by 3%. Burglaries have also increased. 

Murders have dropped by 19% from 80 in the last period to 65 incidents in the latest assessment period.

All other crime categories fell over the year with the highest rates of decrease being for sexual offences, which fell by 11%. Public order and other social code offences dropped by 8% and dangerous or negligent acts fell by 7%.

The number of recorded crime incidents of fraud and deception offences fell by 3% to 11,292 over the year.

The number of incidents of fraud and deception offences in 2023 at 11,292 was 43% more than the 7,921 incidents in 2019.

The number of recorded crime incidents for this category more than doubled between 2019 and 2021 to 17,124 before falling back to 11,689 in 2022.

The number of crime incidents fell across all four Garda regions for three of the 14 offence groups between 2022 and 2023.

The number of male victims was down by 4% while female victims decreased by 3%.

Assessing the profile of victims by age and sex, there was a mixed experience for male victims of different age groups.

There were decreases in the number of victims under 18 years of age, which fell by 14%, and those between 45-59 years, which dropped by 8%, and 18-29 years, which dropped by 4%.

However, the number of victims aged 60 or more rose by 5% while those aged 30-44 went up by 1%.

The number of female victims of assault fell across all age groups, except those aged 60 or more.

The number of female victims aged 60 or above increased by 12%, while the highest rate of decrease was for those under 18 years of age, at 11%.

For all other age groups, the rate of decrease was between 2% and 3%.

With reporting from Press Association