Burglary rates in Dublin now double rest of country

The burglary rate in Dublin is more twice the rest of the Republic, debunking claims that rural Ireland has hit hardest by the crime.

New crime data compiled by the Central Statistics Office shows Dublin has the worst crime problem for every offence type and fewer offences are solved in the capital than in other parts of the country.

Under the CSO definition a crime is “detected”, or solved, when some form of sanction has been imposed such as a caution, conviction or fine, among others.

The data is compiled on a per capita basis, meaning the number of crimes per 100,000 people is set out for all types of offending.

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For each crime type, a per capita figure for 2018 is produced for Dublin and another for the rest of the country.

Sexual offences

There were 71 sex crimes per 100,000 people recorded in Dublin last year and 63 sex crimes per 100,000 population in the rest of the country. By the end of August this year, 11 per cent of the sexual offences recorded in 2018 had been solved. That detection rate was the same for both Dublin and the rest of the Republic.

Attempts and threats to murder

In Dublin last year, there were 486 attempts or threats to murder, assaults and related crimes recorded per 100,000 population and 383 such crimes per capita in the rest of Ireland. The detection rates for these offences last year was 21 per cent in Dublin and 38 per cent in the rest of the country.

Robbery, extortion and hijacking

There were 131 of these crimes recorded per 100,000 population in Dublin last year and just 19 crimes per 100,000 population in the rest of the country. The detection rate for this offence was 21 per cent in Dublin and 37 per cent in the rest of the Republic.

Burglary and related crimes

The burglary rate in Dublin last year was 560 offences per 100,000 people, compared to 268 for the rest of the Republic. The detection rates for burglary last year were 13 per cent for Dublin and 18 per cent for the rest of the country.

Theft and related offences

The theft rate in Dublin was three times higher than in the rest of the Republic; 2,606 crimes per 100,000 population and 902 crimes per 100,000 respectively. Some 30 per cent and 37 per cent of thefts were solved in Dublin and the rest of Ireland respectively.

Drug crime

The number of crimes per 100,000 population in 2018 was 507 in Dublin and 328 outside of the capital. The detection rate for drug crime in Dublin was 82 per cent last year and 87 per cent for the rest of the country.

Damage to property and environment

There were 624 of these offences per 100,000 in Dublin last year and 373 outside the capital city. The detection rates for Dublin and the rest of the country were 15 per cent and 22 per cent respectively.

Public order

There was 769 public order and social code crimes recorded per 100,000 population in Dublin last year compared to 617 in the rest of the Republic. The detection rate in Dublin was 77 per cent and was 83 per cent for everywhere else combined.