New crime figures for the Republic have revealed virtually all forms of crime fell in the 12 month period to the end of September.
The CSO figures outline trends in fifteen different crime categories, all bar three of which have shown decreases in the period under review.
Murders, gun crime, drug crime, sexual offences, theft and public order crimes have all fallen. Minister for Justice Alan Shatter welcomed the decreases in most crime types.
However, he said he was still concerned about the relationship between alcohol consumption and public order offences. The figures show an average 1,000 these crimes are being committed each week.
“It is the reality that the large quantities of alcohol on display in some supermarkets and convenience stores, and the prominence given to alcohol products, remain a cause for concern.”
Mr Shatter said he was inviting proposals from stakeholders and individuals before reaching any decision on introducing the statutory rules in the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008.
Those rules would effectively formalise a voluntary code of practice introduced to retailing in 2008 around how alcohol should have restricted visibility, display and sale arrangements in shops as a means of underlining that it was much different to other products on sale.
In the latest crime statistics published by the CSO, drug crime dropped by 13 per cent in the year to the end of September, compared with the previous corresponding period.
Weapons and explosive offences – which include the crimes of discharging or possessing a firearm – dropped by six per cent.
Murders fell by eight per cent, to 48 cases, while dangerous driving causing death dropped by 25 per cent to 21 cases.
Public order crimes, including being disorderly, saw a decrease of nine per cent. The number of sexual offences reported fell by 21 per cent.
However, most experts working in the field of sexual violence say the number of reported sex crimes is only a fraction of the offences committed. Many victims are reluctant to report attacks on them to the Garda.
Apart from burglaries, only two more of the CSO’s fifteen crime categories have witnessed an increase in the year to the end of September.
Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences increased by three per cent. Fraud and deception offences increased by four per cent.