TWO CSO REPORTS RELEASED today show a reduction in most serious crime levels, but that a high percentage of assaults and thefts continue to go unreported.

The robbery, extortion and hijacking offences group rose by almost 25% between the 12 months before the third quarter of 2009 and of 2010.

The number of dangerous or negligent acts fell by almost one fifth, and drops were also recorded for burglary, controlled drug offences and attempts or threats to murder, assault and harass.

While the number of sexual offences appears to have risen dramatically – by almost 80% – in the period surveyed, the CSO clarrifies that the rise “is mainly due to an on-going review of all cases involving alleged sexual offences reported to An Garda Síochána. Some of these offences will have occurred at some distance in the past but are represented on the date of reclassification.”

The number of murder offences in the year before Q3 2010 was down to 52 from 60 for the same period a year earlier.

Assault and theft

More than 35% of people who were assaulted in 2010 were attacked near their workplace, and injury occurred in almost 60% of assault cases.

However, 45% of assaults were not reported to gardaí, with victims most commonly citing that they did not feel the incident was serious enough to warrant reporting it.

For cases of theft without violence, 37% went unreported. The most common reason cited was that the theft was not sufficiently serious enough to report.

Students were the group which reported the highest victimisation for mobile phone theft, at 4% of all students.

49% of burglary victims were at home

The CSO’s report on Crime and Victimisation shows that the crime rate had fallen from 2006 to 2010. There was a drop of 2% in the number of households in Ireland which experienced property crime this year (9%) compared with 2006 (11%).

In almost half of all burglaries (49%), someone was at home at the time, and injuries were incurred in 2% of burglaries.

The CSO said that 4% of people were victims of personal crime in 2010, with the lowest rates for victimisation being recorded in older age groups.

While 40% of people surveyed expressed their concerns at becoming a victim of crime, that figure was down on the 53% recorded in 2006.

A decrease was also recorded in the number of homes which were vandalised more than once. Over a quarter of those vandalised this year were targeted more than once.