Most categories of serious crime saw a sharp increase over 2022.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) have released their final set of crime statistics for 2022, with the figures confirming that serious crime incidents rose sharply on the previous year.
Thefts and homicides were two of the categories which saw the largest increases, with thefts up 41% and homicide incidents rising by a worrying 30%.
According to the CSO, an additional 19,000 theft-related incidents occurred over the course of 2022 when compared to the previous year.
In total across the state, there were 91 homicide incidents during the past calendar year, with these incidents including attempted murder and dangerous driving causing death.
Another concerning statistic was the fact that murders nearly doubled when compared to 2021, with the number rising from 23 to 44 people in 2022, a dramatic 91% increase in prevalence.
Robbery, extortion and hijacking rose by a further 19%, with a 17% rise in assault and harassment offences also recorded. Sexual assault was another to rise, with an increase of 8% over 2022.
The easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions has seen an increase in certain types of crimes.
One category which did see a dramatic reduction though was that of fraud, which decreased by 32%, owing mainly to the dwindling nature of online banking scams which rose to prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This was not the only category influenced by the easing of pandemic restrictions, with drug importation rising acutely by 61%. 37 incidents were noted last year, and have been attributed to the resumption of international travel.
Other notable increases included burglary, which rose by 10%, and property damage offences, which increased by 12% in 2022.
The CSO released these figures following concerns over the quality of Garda record keeping, with the CSO stating that "the quality of these statistics (Garda figures) do not meet the standards required of official statistics published by CSO".
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