Senators will be aware that the statistics furnished by the Garda Commissioner in relation to headline or serious offences for 2001 are disappointing and very worrying. Although in the period 1996 to 2000 the figures for recorded indictable crime showed a decrease of approximately 27%, the trend, regrettably, altered in 2001 when Garda statistics indicated an overall increase of 18% over the previous year. Although these figures are obviously a cause for major concern, they also reflect the targeting of resources and the resultant increased activity on the part of the Garda Síochána in addressing this problem. This is confirmed by the detection rate of 75% in the assault category and 87% in the homicide category.