Crime total falls by 10%, but sexual offences rise 21%

There was a 10 per cent drop in crime last year, but sexual offences rose by 21 per cent, according to the Garda report.

Welcoming the publication of the Garda Crime Report for 1997, the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, said it showed the lowest crime rate since 1990, and the highest detection rate in 20 years.

There were 90,785 crimes reported last year, and the detection rate rose from 41 to 43 per cent. Northern Donegal and the Border counties was the only region to record a significant increase at 12 per cent.

Mr O'Donoghue paid tribute to the work of the Garda but said he was concerned at the 21 per cent increase in sexual offences. The report shows that of the 256 rapes of women reported to gardai, criminal proceedings had been commenced in fewer than half..

Of those, there had been two convictions in 1997, eight charges were withdrawn, the courts had thrown out one case, and 93 were still pending, 73 of them in the District Courts and the other 20 committed for trial. A further 111 rapes were listed as "detected where no proceedings are shown".

The overall 10 per cent drop in crime showed variations across the State. In the eastern region crime levels remained the same.

There was a 14 per cent drop in Dublin, 13 per cent in the southern region of Limerick, Cork and Kerry and four per cent in the west. The south-east region of Wexford, Tipperary, Waterford and Kilkenny saw a rise of three per cent.

The highest increase within that district was in the Templemore area, ironically the location of the Garda training college, where reported crime increased by 36 per cent.

There were 893 syringe robberies in 1997, 19 per cent fewer than the previous year. There was also a 48 per cent drop in robberies and burglaries using firearms.

In the report, the Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, attributes the drop in crime to the "excellent support of the community, quality intelligence gathering, and the ongoing development of regional policing, coupled with the successes of a wide range of specific policing operations".

The Garda National Traffic Policy Bureau had "made every effort to reduce deaths on our roads", Mr Byrne writes. But there was a responsibility on every road user, "with a special responsibility falling on people in authority who encourage or promote fast driving by their employees".

More than 13,800 drivers were breathalysed last year, with 33 per cent of them testing positive for alcohol. Of the 6,865 blood and urine specimens provided, 93 per cent contained alcohol over the legal limit.

A total of 4,379 people were convicted of drink-driving offences, an increase of 15 per cent on the previous year. Ninety four per cent of those convicted were male drivers.

Under Operation Dochas, the Dublin anti-drugs street campaign, 4,123 searches of premises were carried out in 1997. Almost 70,000 street searches were carried out and there were 22,396 searches of drugs suspects brought to Garda stations.

A total of 17,744 vehicle checkpoints were mounted, and there were 17,021 arrests.

More than 7,800 people were charged and 15,188 summonses were applied for by gardai. Drugs with a street value of more than £4.7 million were seized.

Overall levels of domestic violence were down by 10 per cent, with 4,184 incidents reported.