The formulation of clear crime-counting rules has been recommended in a report into the compiling of statistics by the Garda Síochána.
The report was ordered following reports in the media last year that some crimes had been recorded as "detected" in the Waterford area when no prosecutions had taken place.
The term "detected" was used when gardaí considered they had identified the perpetrator, irrespective of whether a prosecution followed.
Chief Supt Seán Feely was appointed by the Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, to carry out an audit of the crime recorded as "detected" in the Waterford area. This was later extended to the rest of the State.
The audit resulted in a reduction of the detection rate for the Waterford area in 2001 from 65 per cent to 58.5 per cent. Of the 1,599 incidents recorded as "detected" in 2001, only 799 resulted in prosecutions.
Of the remainder, 262 were juvenile diversion referrals, leaving 538 incidents which were analysed in more detail. That analysis showed that 114 incidents had been incorrectly recorded as detected, while 380 were correctly recorded.
The audits of the rest of the State, and of the other years in Waterford, were based on a computer-generated random survey, and included both headline and non-headline (minor) incidents.
The audits of statistics throughout the State showed that 65 per cent of the incidents recorded as "detected" resulted in a prosecution, with 12.5 per cent leading to juvenile diversion referrals.
There were a number of reasons for no prosecutions in the remaining 22 per cent of incidents.
These included:
- either the Director of Public Prosecutions or the district officer decided not to prosecute;
- the complaint was withdrawn;
- the offender's whereabouts were unknown;
- either the offender, the injured party or the prosecuting garda was unavailable because they had died or left the jurisdiction.
The examination of the other years in Waterford revealed a similar pattern, according to Chief Supt Feely's report.
He concluded that no evidence was found of abuse in the recording of crime and that all decisions were made in good faith.
However, he found errors and shortcomings in the system that he recommended be corrected.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, publishing the Garda's annual report yesterday, said he would shortly be announcing the members of an expert group on crime statistics.