The provisional crime figures for the first quarter of this year show a 9 per cent reduction in the number of "headline" crimes, with a bigger reduction in the most serious categories.
The overall figure fell from 28,605 in the first three months last year to 26,126 this year. "Headline" crimes are more serious offences, generally tried in the Circuit or Central Criminal courts.
The Department of Justice said publication of the statistics met the recent commitment given by the Minister, Mr McDowell, that preliminary crime figures would be made available on a quarterly basis as quickly as possible.
The figures show 350 fewer cases of sexual assault were reported in the first three months of this year than in the same period last year, a reduction of 43 per cent.
There were 592 fewer cases of assault causing harm, a reduction of 37 per cent; 212 fewer cases of possession of drugs for supply, a fall of 28 per cent; and 429 fewer cases of burglary, a reduction of 6 per cent. Murders were down 19 per cent, from 16 in the first three months of last year to 13 in the same period this year.
However, the number of cases of unlawful carnal knowledge (sex with an underage person) more than doubled to 60; there were 349 more cases of thefts from the person, an increase of 26 per cent; a 40 per cent increase in the robbery of cash or goods in transit and a 78 per cent rise in bicycle-theft.
The overall fall in the figures follows two years of an apparently inexorable rise in crime, with 2001 showing an increase of 22 per cent on the previous year. That in turn was an increase on 2000, with some categories of crime, notably serious assaults and sexual offences, more than doubling in two years.
While most analysts agreed that at least some of this overall increase was attributable to the new Garda computer recording system, PULSE, the Minister received heavy criticism from the Opposition.
Mr McDowell said yesterday he would hesitate to draw too many conclusions from a change in just one quarter. But the figures showed crime was not "spiralling out of control".
He said the figures demonstrated that a strategic and targeted use of police resources could achieve results. The rise, however, in the number of certain crimes, such as thefts from the person, showed there could be no complacency.
Much of the increase in crime has been attributed to alcohol abuse and an attendant rise in general public order offences. Yesterday's figures do not include public order offences. Mr McDowell told The Irish Times he does not have them yet.
Responding to the crime figures, a Fine Gael spokesman said: "While any sign of a decrease in violent crime is to be welcomed, it will take a significantly longer period than three months in one year of such results before people will feel safe on the streets again. It does not negate the need for the Government to deliver on the 2,000 extra gardaí it promised."
The Labour spokesman on justice, Mr Joe Costello, welcomed the reduction, but said that further reductions were needed to get the figures back to 2000 levels.
He also said it was necessary for the Government to honour its commitment to recruit gardaí, as the numbers assigned to city stations were being reduced.