Drug and gun crime down more than 50%

DRUG AND gun crime has fallen in some parts of the Republic by more than 50 per cent since gangland crime peaked in 2008, with many former blackspot areas having seen the most significant reductions.

The new figures compiled by The Irish Times from official CSO national crime data reveal that of the 28 Garda divisions across the Republic, gun crime has fallen in 22, while drug crime is down in all but two divisions.

In some places the fall-off in gun and drug crime in the period since 2008 has been very significant. For example, drug crime is down by 51 per cent in the Garda’s Dublin metropolitan region south central division, while gun crime has fallen by half or more in eight Garda divisions.

In the six Dublin divisions, which have the biggest drug problem in the State, the drug crime trend is down in all areas.

Drug crime trends have been determined by combining the number of cases of “possession of drugs for personal use” and “possession of drugs for sale or supply” in each of the Garda divisions.

The only area with a significant gangland culture that has seen an increase in drugs offences since 2008 is the Limerick division, where drugs cases have increased by 8 per cent to 943 last year.

Garda sources have said this is because of a major drugs crackdown in the division and point to the 49 per cent fall in gun crime there as proof that the gangs have lost their power.

The biggest fall in gun crime since 2008 has been witnessed in Donegal, where it has fallen by 78 per cent to just four cases. Gun crime has been calculated by combining the offences of “possession of a firearm” and “discharging of a firearm” in each Garda division.

Even in those divisions where gun crime has been more entrenched in recent years, the trends are all very significantly downwards since 2008.

In Limerick, which has had the worst gun crime problem in the Republic apart from west Dublin, gun crime has fallen by 49 per cent in the four-year period under review to just 38 cases last year.

In the Dublin western division, gun crime has dropped by 32 per cent to 78 cases last year.

Apart from Dublin western, the Dublin north central division which includes the inner city has seen gun crime fall by 41 per cent to 16 cases last year.

In Dublin northern, which takes in the north city suburbs, gun crime trends are down by 34 per cent, to 43 cases. And in Dublin eastern a drop of 43 per cent has been recorded, to just nine cases in 2011.

The only division in Dublin where gun crime has increased since 2008 is Dublin southern, though it still has the least number of gun crimes of the six capital city divisions. Gun crime increased there by 4 per cent, from 47 cases in 2008 to 49 cases in 2011.

In the majority of divisions the incidence of gun crime was low; fewer than 25 cases annually in 2008 and fewer than 20 cases last year.

The Dublin western division was the only area when the number of gun crimes recorded in the years under review exceeded 100 cases in any year; reaching 115 incidents in 2008. This was followed by Limerick on 75 cases in 2008.

In the small number of divisions where gun crime increased, the percentage change looks very significant but is off a very small base.

A 100 per cent gun crime increase in Sligo-Leitrim represents a jump from four cases in 2008 to eight cases in 2011, with the division still one of the very safest in the State.

The next biggest percentage increase in gun crime was in the Cavan-Monaghan division. That rise of 50 per cent represented a jump from just six to nine cases.

Some notable decreases in gun crime were in: Waterford (down 63 per cent to 10 cases last year); Kilkenny-Carlow (down 57 per cent to 10 cases); Cork City (down 61 per cent to seven cases).