Michael Conaghan (Dublin South Central, Labour)

Earlier this week the Central Statistics Office, CSO, released the most up-to-date crime statistics for the period 2006 to 2010. These statistics contained some positive news. For example, the detection rate for drug offences stood at 90%, for murder at 83% and for weapons and explosive offences at 90%. This is good news and reflects the excellent work done by members of An Garda Síochána. The one glaring exception to these high detection rates was in the area of burglary and related offences. Of the 25,377 incidents of burglary recorded in 2010, only one in four was detected by the Garda. Moreover, only one in 12, or 2,000 cases, led to a conviction. This issue is of particular interest to me as a Dublin Deputy with the Dublin metropolitan region accounting for over 40% of all incidents of burglary, with Dublin South-Central showing the highest per capita figures with 1,261 burglaries per 100,000 people.

It is important to consider several points about the nature of burglaries. Most instances occur in private family homes. For many people, burglary is the only form of crime which they will ever directly encounter. It is also one of the most intrusive and invasive forms of crime. It can be most distressing and disturbing for the families affected. Most colleagues will agree that it often changes people's perception of their own home, sometimes forever. The impact of burglaries on the victims must not be underestimated.

Burglary can be considered an opportunistic crime, often committed by people starting out in crime. The CSO statistics reflect this with a large number of convictions of young men in particular. Fear of being caught is the only real deterrent to this problem. With only one in four cases detected and only one in 12 leading to a conviction, the fear of being caught is far smaller for burglary than other crimes. The key to apprehending burglars and creating a real deterrent is to ensure adequate forensic work is carried out. Unfortunately, in many instances this vital work is not carried out. I know this from many cases of burglary in my area and this is further borne out by these statistics. Forensic work is the foundation of detection. It secures the evidence necessary to bring people to court and to secure a conviction. Without it, the entire investigative effort collapses. People, both criminals and victims, are aware that adequate forensic work is not carried out in many instances. This further reduces the deterrent for criminals, increases instances of burglary and leads to statistics such as those released this week.

Gardaí often fail to pay sufficient attention to patterns of burglary. Clear evidence and patterns arise in the commission of burglary. Consistencies can emerge in the techniques used by the individuals involved as well as the homes they target, how they travel and how they dispose of stolen goods. Unfortunately, not enough knowledge is gained from studying these patterns. This needs to be changed to raise detection rates.

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