A REVIEW INTO the handling of crime statistics compiled by gardaí has eased concerns in the Central Statistics Office (CSO) about the quality of the data.

Since March 2018, the CSO had categorised Recorded Crime statistics as ‘Statistics Under Reservation’, which is used to inform users that the CSO has concerns about the quality of the data source.

A recent CSO review of the garda statistics – the fifth of its kind – examined the data and assessed the quality management system for the gardaí’s, data collection and quality checking.

Quality management controls that have been added over time and a focus on risk management have allowed the CSO to conclude that the data is fit for official statistics purposes, the review explains.

As a result, the CSO says it can lift the ‘Under Reservation’ status for the recorded crime statistics from Q1 2023.

“The recorded crime series has been progressively improving over time with the cumulative impact of the improved data quality, assessment and assurance measures being seen in a higher data quality level as noted in various CSO reviews in recent years,” the CSO has said in a statement today.

“CSO will continue to inform users of the quality of the data they are using and particular issues which may need to be noted around time series comparability as they arise.”

It said An Garda Síochána has “worked over the past number of years to advance the assurance levels which can be provided around Garda PULSE data”.

“As with all data series, there is never a risk-free data collection process, particularly for something as complex as crime incident recording, but what CSO has seen is a much-enhanced sense within AGS of the risks to PULSE data quality and the controls and resources needed to manage those risks.”

Reacting to the decision, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said that “modern, professional police services increasingly use data such as crime statistics to prevent and tackle crime” and that “having this data to aid gardaí in keeping people safe is only possible through proper and accurate recording by all garda personnel”.

“This decision also recognises the huge contribution of all garda personnel in adopting data and technology in their work,” Harris said.

“There is still much more to do, but data and technology now track and sometimes lead virtually every step of policing; forming a data lifecycle from the first emergency call, to criminal investigations, to national scale management information and official crime statistics.”